


The Things You Do For Love [EDITING/LONG HIATUS]

by Passionteaforapansexualweeb



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Misses Emilie Agreste, Akumatized Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, BAMF Emilie Agreste, Bad Parent Gabriel Agreste, Bad Parent Talia al Ghul, Bisexual Damian Wayne, Blood and Violence, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Daminette - Relationship - Freeform, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Evil Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, F/F, F/M, Forced Marriage, Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth Identity Reveal, Kidnapping, Lazarus Pit, Lucky Charm And Miraculous Ladybugs Cure | Ladybug Miraculous Superpowers Don't Fix Everything, M/M, Marinette Dupain-Cheng Knows, Original Character(s), SPOILERS: SHE'S GETTING REVIVED, The League of Assassins (DCU), hitting y'all with that plot twist-
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:55:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 22
Words: 27,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25533952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Passionteaforapansexualweeb/pseuds/Passionteaforapansexualweeb
Summary: Gabriel Agreste is given two options - he hands over the butterfly miraculous to Ra's Al Ghul - in order to gain access to the Lazarus Pits to revive his late wife, Emilie. Or - he hands over the ladybug miraculous - and be granted immortality; for both him, and his wife.Marinette Dupain-Cheng, or rather, Ladybug, is kidnapped by Gabriel Agreste's hired henchmen - and sent to Ra's Al Ghul's grandson, Damian, as an offering.But, what if this edgy, bossy, assassin prince falls for Ladybug?(Cross-posted on Wattpad - check out my account there on my profile)
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Luka Couffaine, Alix Kubdel/Nino Lahiffe, Chloé Bourgeois/Kagami Tsurugi, Dick Grayson/Wally West, Juleka Couffaine/Rose Lavillant, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Damian Wayne, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Roy Harper/Jason Todd, Stephanie Brown/Cassandra Cain, Tim Drake/Kon-El | Conner Kent
Comments: 105
Kudos: 229





	1. 1

Rain pattered against Marinette Dupain-Cheng's window. She had just finished a tiring patrol with Chat Noir. Hawkmoth was really giving his butterflies a good work-out with all the flying and akumatizing they'd been doing for the past four years. 

Marinette tiredly sighed as she watched the night's news. 

_'Milliardaire Playboy Bruce Wayne et ses réflexions sur le nouvel organisme de bienfaisance financier à Paris... Monsieur Wayne?'_

Another charity? It had been the fourth charity this MONTH that Bruce Wayne had hosted a charity in Paris. Most say it was for a good cause, while others thought of it as a waste of time or effort. Marinette thought of it as a good cause, but why Paris, of all places?

Marinette watched the interview with much disinterest, practically dozing off, until a sudden _'THUMP'_ on her balcony shook her awake. 'What the heck was that?' Marinette turned in her pink swivel chair, looking at her balcony. Nothing. Marinette once again sighed. 

'I must be seeing things...' Marinette yawned. Hallucinations? Goddamn. She closed her laptop, spinning around her swivel chair. She rubbed her tired, baggy eyes, getting up. She walked over to her balcony door, opening it. She stepped out, turning on her balcony light. 

Nothing unusual. Everything was the same. Just drenched in a light layer of Parisian rain. She shrugged, turning off her light, going back inside. She locked her door. Marinette walked over to bed, falling face first onto it. Every bone in her body was sore. She grabbed the edge of her periwinkle blue blanket and wrapped it around herself like a crepe. 

"Good night, Tikki." Tikki lightly snored from her small bed of folded fabric scraps. Marinette smiled before closing her eyes. For a second. Her eyes shot open. Some shuffling came from outside on her balcony. "Ugh, what the heck is making that-" Marinette pulled back the curtains covering the windows to see a hooded figure standing there. Different weapons were stored in specialized pouches on his outfit. Heavy sheets of tough metal armor covered his chest, arms and legs. A black mask covered the figure's entire face, excluding the eyes. 

Eyes the color of dark jade. Eyes greener than the mountains scattered around rural France. 

_"LEAVE THIS PLACE_."

Marinette gasped, falling backwards onto her bottom. 

Then, she blacked out.

"MARINETTEEEE! MARINETTTEEEE! WAKE UP!" Marinette shot up, arms raised, ready to attack. "Relax, Marinette! It's just me!" Marinette looked at the kwami. "O-oh... sorry Tikki..." Tikki floated closer to Marinette. "Um...you okay? You seemed a little jumpy... well, more jumpy than usual."

"R-really?" Marinette grabbed the front of her sweat-drenched shirt. "Sorry... I just had this weird dream where... there was this guy... in all this cool black armor... and these _beautiful_ green eyes... and he told me to 'leave this place' or something... and then I just blacked out, and, and-"

"Woah! That's uh... some dream you had!" Tikki held up her tiny 'hands' as a sign of 'please stop before my tiny kwami brain explodes.' Marinette awkwardly chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck. "Y-yeah... anyways... what time is it?"

"Um..." Tikki turnt her head to look at Marinette's wall clock. _'8:49.'_

"SHIT! SCHOOL STARTS IN ELEVEN MINUTES!" Marinette vaulted out of her bed, sprinting into the bathroom. "Good morning, Mari-" Sabine started, only to be interrupted by the slam of the bathroom door. "SORRY MOM! LOVE YOU! RUNNING LATE! FFFFFF-" Marinette struggled to pull off her fluffy ladybug patterned pajama pants. 

After successfully escaping her pajamas she leaped into the shower, doing her best not to scream when the cold water hit her freckled back. Two minutes done, get out, almost slip, dry off, run back into room to change. 

Marinette pulled a grey turtleneck over her wet hair before slipping on a pair of black jeans with her trademark apple blossom design stitched onto it. She ignored her wet hair - she'll just leave it down till it dries; and THEN tie it up. She snatched up her bag, then Tikki's bag, and practically leaped off the staircase.

"BYEMOMBYEDAD,LOVEYOUBYESEEYOULATER!" 

Sabine and Tom Dupain-Cheng waved, still trying to decoded whatever the fuck their daughter had just spat out. Marinette ran as fast as her clumsy legs could go in the direction of her school.

Marinette panted heavily as she ran through groups of people, past strollers and over food vendors. At a crosswalk, Marinette frantically smashed the big red button was supposedly there to speed up the red man on the crosswalk light. 

'Hurry uppppppp!' the bluenette pulled her phone out of her pocket, gawking at the time. She'd only have four minutes to run almost half a mile to Francoise Dupont High School. And that's like an automatic detention for the poor Marinette.

'What to do, what to do-' Marinette's attention was turned to a window sized poster of Chat Noir and Ladybug. 'Ladybug! That's it!' Marinette ran to her left, practically diving into an alley behind an abandoned tourist shop.

"Tikki!" Marinette whispered. The polka-dotted kwami flew out of Marinette's bag. "What is it, Marinette?"

"I need to transform." Tikki looked confused. "Why? Is someone in danger?" Marinette awkwardly grinned at Tikki. Tikki seemed to give her a small frown, but still obeyed. "Finnneeee..." Marinette smiled. "Thanks Tiks! You're the best! Alright! Tikki, spots on!" 

Red-pink light flashed in the dark alleyway. Where Marinette was standing was now Ladybug. "Let's go!" Ladybug tossed her yoyo onto a metal bar on top of the abandoned building. She let out a quiet 'WOO-HOO!' as she elevated upwards.

Little did she know that someone saw her.

 _'Adrien, do you have your eyes on the girl?_ '

Adrien Agreste put a finger to his ear-comm. "Yes, Father."

_'Good. I'll be seeing you soon.'_

"Can't wait," Adrien smirked, watching as 'his' Marinette leapt across rooftops.

Boy, would that smile soon be a cold, grim line of no emotion.

-Time Skip-

Marinette ran into her classroom, out of breath but excited. Paris from tall rooftops never failed to amaze the girl. 

"Hi Ms. Bustier!" the red-head gave Marinette a small smile, glancing over at the wall clock. "Hm. You're not late today. That's good. Go ahead and take a seat, Marinette." Marinette nodded, skipping over to her friends, a.k.a, the Marinette Protection Squad. 

"Marinette!" Chloe wrapped her arms around Marinette. Ever since Lila's attempt of trying to get Marinette expelled in their freshman year, the two eventually grew closer due to their hatred of a certain bitch faced Barbie and Alya's betrayal of Marinette, causing the two to stop being friends.

"Chlo!" Marinette hugged the bee heroine back. In their junior year, Marinette had revealed her identity to Chloe as an act of trust - an act that they hadn't broken since. Alix, Nino, Kim, Max, Kagami and Juleka all came to greet or chat with Marinette.

From the other side of the classroom, Lila and Alya sat with the rest of their class, glaring at the cheerful MPS. "Can you believe that little shit still has friends? Especially AFTER she almost killed me by pushing me down the stairs?" Lila snarked. Alya nodded in agreement.

"Hey Chloe, I love what you did with your hair!" Marinette's bluebell eyes twinkled at the sight of the beautifully plaited bun on top of the honey (HA-) blonde's head. "You do? I got my maman to do it today..." Chloe smiled at the thought of her mother. Audrey Bourgeois had began to spend a lot more time in Paris, much to Chloe's enjoyment. The mother and daughter were able catch up on a lot of things. 

"That's wonderful!" Marinette was about to continue chattering with her friends when Ms. Bustier cleared her throat, signalling that class was about to begin. Marinette and the others scattered around the classroom, sitting down in their assigned seats. 

Ms. Bustier shuffled through her clipboard, pulling the lesson plans out of a orange folder. "Okay. First things first," the young teacher placed a paper underneath the projector. The image flashed onto rolled down screen.

_'The students of Francoise Dupont High School have been formally invited to the Agreste Gala at the Agreste Mansion at 9:00 PM on xx-xx-xx to celebrate the new partnership of the Agreste company and Wayne Enterprises.'_

More information was also written on the paper, but the thing that stood out the most was the small words at the bottom of the paper, _'formal wear only_.' This was her chance to show off her new designs to Gabriel Agreste and Bruce Wayne. 

Something like that would most definitely gain her newly designed line of clothing attention. Chloe and Alix also seemed to notice the formal wear line. "Nettie, this is your chance to show off your designs!" Marinette jolted up, shocked. She was beginning to have her second thoughts. 'Gabriel would probably be busy... no... he might notice me... nah, he'll notice someone like me...' 

"Marie?" Marinette was brought back to real life. "O-oh right! That sounds great!" Alix and Chloe grinned at each other. Ms. Bustier continued to talk about the event. Marinette only drowned out the words.

She was too busy daydreaming about Gabe and Bruce's reactions. 

-Time Skip-

"Okay, stand still, arms out... like that! That's perfect!" Juleka stood still as Marinette ran around her, practically mummifying the Couffaine in black lace. "Marinette, are you trying to make Juleka into a mummy, or are you trying to find out what looks good on her?" Kagami said, eyeing Juleka's pleading eyes. "Um..." Marinette grinned. Juleka exhaled, giggling under her breath.

"I think the stretchy grape purple fabric would make a nice dress. It would look good around Juleka's curves," Alix looked through Marinette's fabric rack. "Or this pale grey. With a lacey covering?"

"Hmm... that sounds great!" Marinette began to jot down notes into her design notebook. 

"How do you think this looks on me?" Chloe wrapped a silky yellow fabric around her waist. Marinette studied it for a moment - the color was fitting, the length suited Chloe's height and the fabric texture went well with what she was planning to do for Chloe's dress.

"Maybe... if we can just," Marinette fiddled around with the fabric until it eventually became an open front dress that revealed just the fronts of Chloe's legs. 

"Voila!"

"Damn... that's perfect, Marinette," Alix flashed her friend a thumbs up. Marinette laughed. A small knock came from her door. Marinette opened her trapdoor to see Sabine.

"Hi, sweetie! Dinner's ready!"

"Sweet! Thanks Maman!"

"No problem!"

Marinette closed the circular door. "Dinner's ready!~"

"Hell yeah! Your mom's cooking is to die for!" Chloe was the first to climb down the ladder, followed by Alix, Juleka, Kagami, and finally Marinette.

Little did she know that someone was watching them the whole time. After watching Marinette climb down her ladder, a certain kitty crept into Marinette's room, via her unlocked balcony. Chat's cat eyes scanned the room - until his lime green eyes landed on Tikki.

The small kwami was distracted by a tiny dollhouse-sized magazine, her back to the balcony. Perfect. Chat Noir quietly crept in, silently walking towards Tikki.

"I got you now, Ladybug..." Tikki turned her head around to see Chat Noir standing over her. "ADRI-" Chat's clawed hand grabbed the kwami, silencing her. "Aww... poor bwaby..." Chat cooed. He pulled out his already-written note, tossing it onto Marinette's desk.

"Bye-bye little bug~" Chat ran out of the room, leaping off the balcony. 

_'I know who you are Marinette Dupain-Cheng._

_Or should I say..._

_LADYBUG._

_If you want your little kwami 'friend' back, I'll need one, no, scratch that, (pun intended) two things from you. The first being your miraculous. And don't even try to give me fakes. Hawk Moth won't fall for that trick again. And just maybe... just MAYBE... will you be able to have your little squeaky toy back. And for the second thing - a box of your finest 24k gold covered macarons, chocolate. Throw in some camembert for me. Plagg likes it extra stinky._

_Bring the listed to the Agreste Gala on xx-xx-xx, and I might let you live._

_That's up for Al Ghul to decide though._

_Ta-ta!_

_P.S. I want the camembert SEPERATE from the macarons. Please._

(Chapter One, done!)


	2. 2

Marinette happily waved at Alix, who began to rollerblade home. Alix gave her a backwards peace sign as a simple 'good-bye.' The blue-haired teen put her hands together, stretching. Time for a night of patrol. There had been no akuma sightings lately, but it was still a good idea to check anyway.

It was also a good workout - the huge pot of jiaozi and wontons that Sabine had made filled Marinette to the brim. She let out an exhale of relief after hearing the satisfying crack from her back. 

Marinette did a couple more stretches before returning to the inside of the patisserie. "Going on patrol, Marinette?" Sabine asked, holding a laundry basket. "Yup! I won't be gone long though. No akuma sightings yet!" Sabine cracked a smile, putting her left hand on Marinette's shoulder. "Promise me you won't get hurt?" Marinette beamed back at her mother. "Of course!" 

The ladybug heroine climbed up the ladder to her bedroom, practically smashing through the trapdoor. "Oh, Tikkiii!~" Marinette closed the heavy circular door beneath her. "Where are you?" she got onto her knees, peeking underneath her bed where Tikki would occasionally write her extremely smutty fanfictions of her fellow kwami friends.

There wasn't any hint of Tikki underneath the bed besides an open doll notebook and the broken piece of pencil lead that the kwami would write with. Marinette grabbed the little notebook, taking a quick lil' snoop at what her little friend had been writing. It was hard to read due to the size, but Marinette did manage to figure it out:

_'Kiss me, Damyion. And then we can sail off into the sunset... just me and you._

_But, Marionettie. I cannot._

_Why, my love?_

_My father, Brucipher, shall never allow. My siblings would create horrid things about you; spreading rumors to everyone in the grand city of Got Ham._

_Then... come join me. In the city of love. My parents, Sabean and Thomas will accept you. You will be treated like a king.'_

The frantic writing stopped at the bottom of the page. Marinette blinked, slowly closing the book. Those names all sounded very familiar. _Marionettie? Brucipher? Got Ham? Thomas? SABEAN?!_

Marinette shook it off. She needed to find Tikki. Using her bed as a 'help you stand up' thing, she walked over to her rack covered in multi-colored fabrics. She lifted off most of the pile, tossing it onto the floor. Tikki would sometimes crawl into a different section of the pile, curling up in there due to the thick layers and warmth. 

"Tikki?" the Parisian girl checked under each layer of fabric, feeling around for Tikki. Nothing but lost buttons and the occasional prick of the finger from a leftover pin. Marinette brought the messy stack of fabrics back to the top of the rack, moving on to her desk. 

For a second, Marinette thought her bright red stress ball was Tikki, only to be fooled. She rummaged around her desk, sweeping aside larger items, praying that Tikki was possibly hiding behind a picture frame or her computer monitor. 

No luck. Marinette sat down, panicking. Where the hell was her kwami? Tikki? Hello? In her state of 'what the fuck am I going to do,' her bluebell eyes caught the neatly folded note sitting on top of her Ladybug figurine.

Odd.

Marinette snatched it, unfolding it at the speed of light. 

What.

The.

FUCK?!

This couldn't be possible - how could- how did- why?!

Wasn't Chat supposed to be loyal?

He was one of her closest friends at that. Why did he-

The black cat. Often known as a sign of death or destruction.

Chat Noir.

Black Cat.

You just destroyed a heartfelt trust.

Fuck you.

Marinette threw the note down, mad. No, she wasn't mad. She was _PISSED_. Downright, ready to fuck someone up to a point where the only thing that fifty chocolate macarons would be the only thing they'll be choking on for the next millenia. Or until they died of lack of oxygen.

Oh ho ho, Chat Noir was now on her death list. No one messes with Marinette, _or_ Tikki.

[With the Wayne Family]

(Read with Russian Accent)

"This may look like ordinary plastic bottle with rubber glove on it, but I assure you, it is not," Ashe (OC) held the said, 'ordinary plastic bottle with rubber glove on it,' in front of Duke's confused face. "...because when you squeeze you get middle finger that say, 'fuck you!'" the rubber middle finger bopped Duke in the nose. 

**(https://youtu.be/4vB9dKifI8o)**

"Ahahaha... okay, two things: one) Can we concentrate? And two, I thought you lost your accent?" Ashe squinted, confuzzled. "HUh? What do you mean? I always had this accent. I just cover it up with my stunning _'American'_ accent."

"Right..." From the other side of the room, Dick laughed. "Your accent sucks." Ashe frowned at him. "You suck. Specifically, you suck Wally's dick." Duke's mouth formed into an 'o,' while Dick turned red. "To be fair, he enjoys it." Ashe and Duke cringed. "We don't need to fucking details, bro."

Dick shrugged. "Just doing my job as the oldest sibling, ruining my little siblings 'innocent' minds." Ashe coughed at the oldest part.

Biologically, Ashe was the oldest, but let's not go there, this is about Daminette, not my oc. 

Bruce walked in, eyeing the situation. "What happened here?" the glove-bottle laid on the floor of Bruce's Parisian vacation home. On one of the couches, Tim was sprawled across it, attempting to defeat the Enderdragon in Minecraft. Jason was Face-Timing Roy, who was currently in the middle of a Star Wars movie marathon, based on the 'vooming' of the lightsabers and the background music. Cass was raiding the fridge, hiding all the ice cream under her black oversized sweater to share with Steph, who was in their bedroom, cursing at a sea gull on their balcony. 

"Uh... Duke and I are trying to hack into the Agreste-" Duke clapped his hand over his friend's mouth, silencing the fallen angel. Bruce arched an eyebrow. Duke cleared his throat. "What Ashe _MEANT_ to say, is that we're trying to... oh no, is Cassie trying to steal _ALL_ ice cream?!" 

Duke pointed at the huge lump in Cassandra's sweater. "Me? Nooo... I'm... just... pregnant. Thirty-six weeks..." a tub of green tea ice cream fell out, falling to the floor. Cass gasped. "Dad, I think I just had a miscarriage... you just lost your grandchild!"

Bruce gave her a blank stare. Cass quickly picked up the tub, running into her room while trying to keep the ice cream containers hiding behind her jacket from falling out. Bruce sighed, rubbing his temples. Just why were his kids so... weird?

" _Miscarriage my ass, Cassandra_... alright. You all know your roles for the Agreste gala, right?"

"The oldest and social child. Wow the crowd while endorsing Wayne Enterprises with my quirky ways," Dick brushed his waist length hair (I fucking live for long-haired Grayson) with a stylish comb.

"Good. Jason?" Jason, without looking up from Roy's face, answered. "The second child. The heart-throb. The one that radiates the big dick energy-"

"Okay, just because you're the only male top in this family, doesn't mean that you have to flex, _Jason,"_ Dick glared at Jason. Bruce began feeling around his pockets, trying to find his packet of Tylenol or aspirin. "I'm a top!" Ashe raised her hand. "But do you have a dick though?" Jason pointed out. "There's a thing called a-"

"For the record, Jason does have a big dick-" Tim slurped his coffee. "HOW THE HELL DO YOU KNOW THAT?!" Tim looked at Duke. "I have my preferences." Duke once again cringed. Being asexual in a family where sex jokes were constantly being made was hard.

See what I did there?

'Hard?'

Eh? Eh? EHHHHHHHHHHHHH????

Bruce face-palmed, leaving the room to his bedroom. Oh, how he wished Alfred was here. "Oh, oh! Remember that time Jason's pants were cut off during patrol one night and he had to run around in Minnie Mouse underwear?" Ashe recalled. "Really, it wasn't that big of a deal, considering the fact that Ashe pretty much runs around in the tightest pair of booty shorts to ever exist-"  
  


"Oh, so now, we're going to slut-shame MY costume? Let's have a little talk about your original costume, Jason," Ashe snarked, referring to the 'used tampon' look Jason used to 'pill' off. 

Different snickers sounded from across the room. 

[With Marinette]

"OHMAGAWD OHMAGAWD OHMAGAWDDDD! TIIIKKKKKIIIIIIIIIIII!" Marinette sobbed. It had been about an hour since Marinette had discovered that Tikki was, *ahem*, 'cat-napped.' I'll stop.

(End of Chapter Two, 'cause... I want to end it here!)


	3. 3

"...don't forget about the deal, Agreste." Talia Al Ghul spoke through the screen. 

"Of course, Talia." Gabriel said. He sat on a white leather couch, swirling around a champagne flute, taking a sip of the sparkling wine. He smacked his lips, taking in the ripe taste.

"I shall be seeing you on this day, the following week?" Talia nodded. "We will have our finest captors take what belongs to us..." Gabriel took another sip. "I see. And for my beloved?" 

"We will have the accommodations you requested for your wife. We will prepare to revive her in our Lazarus Pits..." Gabriel smirked. "Perfect. Well, then. I shall take my leave. My son is to return by now," the fashion designer got up. "Ah yes. My son as well. Till next time, Agreste. Au revoir." Talia ended the call. 

Gabriel set down his champagne, adjusting his tie. _'Just a little more time, my queen.'_

He walked away, abandoning his flute of alcohol. He approached the portrait of his wife, Emilie, dialing the patterned password to his atelier. The portrait swung open, leading to his lair. Gabriel stepped in, closing the painting door behind him.

Pale white butterflies parted, flying to the side as Gabriel walked down the catwalk leading to the large tree growing underneath the mansion. The butterfly patterned was covered in its normal dome since it wasn't in use.

An eerie glow came from right under the tree. Lying peacefully in a glass pod was his beloved wife, Emilie Agreste. The flower that was normally wrapped in her hands was withering. Gabriel pressed his hands against the glass. 

"Soon... we will be reunited... Emilie..." he brushed his hand over the glass area where Emilie's cheek was.

[With Marinette]

Marinette rubbed her puffy eyes for the five-hundred and fifty second time that hour. She was currently baking a batch of assorted muffins while mourning the loss of her kidnapped kwami, Tikki. She swiped the top of her hand under her nose, wiping away the incoming snot. How, very 'sanitary.' 

Sabine and Tom both eyed their upset daughter. They both knew about Marinette being Ladybug from the start, they just never told her about it since Marinette 'came out' to them.

"Uh... Marinette, are you sure you want to work today? You can take a break-"

"N-no! *sniff* I want to w-work today!" Marinette sniffled, closing the door on one of the many ovens. "Are you sure? You seem-"

"Dad, it's fine! Okay?! I just need to... I WANT to work today, okay?! I just need something to... d-distract myself from... _that_..."

Tom bit his lip. "Okay then... you can take a break whenever you want too, okay sweetie?"

"Yup... thanks Dad... love you," Marinette went back to aggressively rolling the shit out of croissant dough. Tom took one last look at his daughter before going back to helping Sabine reach the industrial flour. 

[With the Wayne's]

The Batsiblings all surrounded Bruce around the replicated version of the Batcomputer. They were currently underneath their vacation home, watching as Bruce explained the plan for the Agreste gala.

"...we all know what Talia and Ra's are planning. What I've been thinking of is..." Bruce paused, turning to Batglare at Tim, who was currently loudly eating peanut butter off a spoon. "What?" Bruce heavily sighed, returning to the screen.

"As I was _saying_ , Ra's is planning on granting Gabriel and his wife immor...ta..li..y... _Jason, I swear to GWOD,_ " Bruce spun around on his chair. Eyes turned to Jason. Jason was loudly slurping a bowl of tomato soup. "Yes?" Jason batted (AHAHAHAHA) his eyes 'innocently.' 

Jason continued to slurp his soup, looking Bruce right in the eye the entire time. Blue on blue. Cass pulled out a chocolate bar, making as much noise as she could trying to open it without a machete. 

"Are you _done_ yet?!" 

"Gimme a seconddddd..." Jason smacked his lips. "Okay, I'm done!" He set the bowl on Tim's head. "Remove the bowl from your brother's head."

"Mno."

"Jason. _REMOVE_ the bowl from your brother's head."

"No." Bruce's left eyes twitched. Jason crossed his arms like a sassy toddler. 

[With the Al Ghul's]

"Aren't you excited, Damian? Soon we will have a miraculous... after all those decades of your grandfather searching for one... we finally get the most powerful... the _ladybug_ miraculous," Talia closed her compact mirror.

"Fascinating, mother. I am most excited," he sarcastically said. He had warned Marinette to leave Paris, or specifically, France that one night. He doubted that Marinette had fully listened in to his warning. She had randomly passed out after he growled the words, 'Leave this place.' Because of that, Damian had to carry her to her bed before she woke up in the morning, right in front of her open balcony. 

She was really light - thin muscles lined her arms. She had the body of a gymnast. Or in his, or maybe her case, a superheroine. 

'I hope she listened...' Damian hoped. 

[With Marinette]

Marinette flung herself onto her bed. Tom had forced her to take a break, much to her dismay. It was probably because Marinette dented the fridge door with her fist while trying to set in the sourdough to rise. Or because Marinette broke one of many cutting boards with a wooden _rolling pin_. Or perhaps, the aggressive cake decorating.

Either one. You pick.

Marinette grabbed her patchwork bunny, holding it close to her chest. Small whimpers escaped her mouth. A thin trail of nonstop tears rolled down her face, plopping onto her pink blanket.

"Nettie?" 

That voice. Chloe. 

"Can I come in?"

Marinette shot up, immediately wiping away the snot oozing from her nose on her sleeve. She grabbed the nearest hairbrush she had, brushing away the knots in her hair. Right before she opened her trapdoor, she repeatedly wiped over her eyes as if nothing happened.

"Hey Marinette... your maman told you what happened..." Chloe climbed up, followed by Pollen. "H-how could Plagg allow Ad-" Pollen stopped to burp. "Sorry... but seriously! Plagg would never do such a thing. I mean, not since... since..." 

Pollen was brought back to the beginning, back when she was still just a human with no magical properties. 

"Never mind... where do you think she is, young Guardian?" Marinette sadly chuckled. "I told you, you can call me Marinette... and... I haven't got a clue where Tikki may be." Chloe put a hand on Marinette's shoulder.

_GAYYYY-_

(End of Chapter 3!!!)


	4. 4

"Your maman told me what happened. Are you sure it was Chat?" Chloe brushed her gentle fingers under Marinette's eyes, wiping away the tears. Marinette sadly nodded.

"He left a n-note..." Chloe perked up. "Where is it?!" Marinette pointed to the folded paper on her desk. Chloe got up, snatching it up. Her eyes widened. The paper was familiar. There was a gold outline with Latin words, just barely visible in the lines. 

This was from an Agreste-issued notepad. 

"Oh... my." was all she could say.

"W-what is it?" Chloe gulped. "I... I... can't believe Chat would do such a thing. You don't think he's..."

"Akumatized?" Marinette finished. "I don't think so. He might be..." tears fell down even more. Chloe rushed to Marinette's side. She pulled a salmon pink comforter off of Marinette's bed, wrapping it around the two. 

"It's gonna be okay... trust me. Aren't kwamis immortal or something?" Marinette nodded. Chloe managed a smile. She placed a hand on Marinette's shoulder. 

Blue looked into blue.

"Tikki will be okay. One little bruise on her though, and we WILL beat some ass. But for now... how 'bout we..." Chloe's eyes landed on Juleka's started dress. "How about we work on... the gala dresses?"

The bluenette seemed to brighten at the mention of the gala. That's right! She still had the dresses she needed to finish!

Marinette shot up, her mood completely different than what it was for the past five hours. 

She shot her hand up, pointing to Juleka's dress. Chloe laughed, getting up as well. 

[With the Wayne's]

"Monsieur Wayne. It's a pleasure that the Agreste Company and Wayne Enterprises are working together." Gabriel and Bruce shaked hands. 

"The pleasure's all mine, Monsieur Agreste." 

"Please, call me, Gabriel."

"Of course. You can call me Bruce. It's much simpler." Gabriel nodded. Bruce's cellphone went off at that moment. "Many apologies, Gabriel. It's one of my kids," Bruce pulled out his phone. Gabriel nodded.

'He's gonna watch isn't he?' Bruce cleared his throat. 

[In Russian]

"Dick? What's the insights?" some shuffling noises could be heard. 

_"Cass and Ashe found some sort of... underground lair.'_

"I see. What's in there?"

_"There's seems to be... butterflies?"_

"Investigate more. Don't get caught."

_"Yes sir. Move, move-"_

Bruce ended the call. "What was that about, Bruce?" Bruce chuckled. "One of my kids was picking up my suit for the upcoming gala. He was just asking where to put it. Wouldn't want to wrinkle the fabric, right?"

Gabriel laughed. "Of course. That is one of the things that irritates me a lot." he straightened the cuffs on his suit. "Come. I shall show you the ballroom. We can talk about the meeting there."

"Of course." Bruce clicked something on the back of his blazer. 

[With the Wayne kidss]

 _Beep_. 

The cameras surrounding the atelier all went limp; off. Ashe said a silent 'yes,' as her hacking got the cameras to 'die.' High-tech mansion, rich bitches, crappy, easily hacked into cameras. 

"Let's move," Dick whispered. Jason, Tim, Cass, Steph, and Duke all crawled around Ashe in the vent. Jason tossed down a marble. Silence. 

"This place is 'floating.'" Jason whispered to the others. He perched onto edge. He then sprung off, doing some acrobatic moves to land over the huge gap in the middle, getting a solid, yet silent landing. Cass and Steph did the same thing. Dick moved around Ashe, Tim, and Duke. 

"You guys find the helipad. We'll check here for anything League related." three quiet 'okays' came from the younger Wayne's. And the Thomas.

Dick leapt off, doing his usual overdramatic Flying Grayson procedure. He landed next to Jason. He gave the three a thumbs up. 

"Leggo!" Ashe murmured, a flashlight in her mouth. Duke and Tim nodded. For the next three minutes, the trio crawled through the vents of the Agreste mansion. Over bedrooms, sewing rooms, lounges, a hot tub, and some muscular dude built like a gorilla eating out of a pickle jar in some random 'employee' room.

"What the hell?" Duke whispered. Tim shrugged. Instead of climbing forward, the eventually began to climb upwards. 'My gawd, is it just the heavy spy clothes or is it the growing heat?' Tim used one hand to peel his sweaty sleeves out of his armpits.

"Can you hurry up, Ashe? It's not fun being the one holding Tim's fat ass up," Duke complained. Tim scoffed. "Oh, I'm sorry that I need the extra fat to protect my derieur from Kryptonian _dick_." Duke groaned. Tim rolled his eyes. "You try dating a Kryptonian. I'm pretty sure Jon is single."

"Yeah, and I'm sure that I'll _pass_. Jon's a bottom."

"That's true. Anyways, Ashe, how's the hacking going?" the bi-colored eyes of Ashe zoomed over the small holographic screen. "Almost done. They do have some good cameras up here. Better connection? Or... maybe there solar. Dunno."

A couple more minutes.

"Are you DONE yet?!" Duke yelled from his tight spot. 

"Almosttttt! There's something cutting off the connection to the cameras!" a minute later, a quiet 'yus' came from Ashe. "Done!" 

"Sweet! Open the vent door, I'm steaming." Ashe used her heeled boot to slam open the grated vent door. She climbed up first, followed by Tim and Duke. 

"Wow. This view is trash. Okay. Let's go find the flight plans."   
  


[With Dick's team]

"This place is pretty nice. A lot more... butterflies. This is like the upgraded Batcave. I like it. It doesn't smell that bad in here."

"Jason. Butterflies aren't deadly. Bats are more vicious." Steph walked through the clusters of insects. "Butterflies are weird."

"Uh, hello? Bats are fucking gross."

"THEY DON'T EVEN DO ANYTHING-"

"Can you two SHUT UP, before we get CAUGHT?!" Dick rubbed his temples. He's only twenty-six and he's already finding gray hairs in his waist-length hair.

"Fine. Just trying to prove my point. What are we looking for again?"

"Things related to the League- oh... my..." Dick put a hand to his uncovered mouth. He was speechless. Lying right in front of them was the glass coffin containing the comatosed Emilie Agreste. 

Next to it, the latches were unclasped - her body was going to be transported somewhere.

"Bruce needs to know about this..."

[With Marinette]

"How's this look?" Chloe was modeling Juleka's almost-finished dress. Marinette scanned the dress. "Turn a bit... too the right." the blonde turned. "Now... spin."

Chloe spinned. "That's perfect!"

( I was gonna draw it, but my lazy ass-)

Marinette laughed.

"That looks good!"

Chloe put her hands on her hips. "Because I'm modeling it!" Marinette snorted. Chloe shook her head, chuckling. "I can't believe I used to sound like."

Marinette wrapped her arms around Chloe's neck, ignoring the fake metal prongs on the choker. "The past is in the past. You're different now."

[With Brucie and Gabie]

"...the main event shall begin at nine. Then..." Gabriel ranted on about the events and how the people he paid to make curtains were to die for. He would occasionally nod in understanding or add in something, but otherwise, he just kept listening to the comms, answering the questions in morse code.

The ballroom was pretty big - it wasn't as big as the one at Wayne Manor, but it definitely was larger than any of the rooms in the house. Red curtains with gold thread stitching were being taken down by butlers and maids. The curtains that were replacing them were black ones, some with the Wayne Enterprises logo on it, some with out, which were color matched with white, red, and gold ones, with the Agreste Company logo on.

[With Timbo's group]

"See anything?" Duke asked as he dug through the control tower's messy drawers. Tim was typing away on the computer. "Not yet... there's a decent amount of porn on this computer, but otherwise, there's nothing regarding the flight schedule for this Friday."

"Ashe?" Duke looked at the girl sitting on the floor. "Nope, nope, nope," she muttered. Different packets of old flight schedule's littered the rubbery floor. Ashe looked up at Duke, a huge grin on her face.

"Either my dyslexia is acting like a bitch, or I found it." she waved a folder with Friday's date on it.

(End of Chapter...4?)


	5. 5

**Four hours till Agreste Gala:**

(Yes, I'm doing a big ass time skip. Also the sort of... how do I say this? Writing set-up is different in this chapter and THIS chapter only)

Chloe and Kagami were doing more flirting than helping Marinette get ready. Chloe would randomly zone out while applying Marinette's eyeliner, instead paying attention to Kagami's prettied up face or the wide patch of cleavage her dress exposed.

Since Marinette did the most work, designing and making the dresses, Juleka, Alix, Chloe and Kagami all decided to do Marinette's little 'jobs' for her. Alix, surprising, knew how to bake, so she was currently baking the requested batch of macarons for the 'Wayne Family to try,' with Tom when really she was baking them for Chat's weird request. 

Juleka had brought in the largest and nastiest smelling chunk of camembert cheese her mom had hiding in the back of their fridge on their house-boat. Kagami and Chloe were 'helping' Marinette by applying her makeup and fixing up her hair.

"Chlo', 'Gami. Just. Fucking. DATE ALREADY!" Chloe's hand slipped from the tip of Marinette's eye. There was now a huge streak of eyeliner across Marinette's face.

"M-marinette! W-we don't have that...we...uh...oh no, is that Alix calling from downstairs? Better go, urm, help her!" Chloe awkwardly smiled at Kagami, patting her exposed shoulder. 

"I think you broke her Marinette," Kagami laughed, brushing through Marinette's silky hair. Marinette hummed. "I'm just sayinggggg!~ You two look cute together."

"Thank you Marinette. But, I think... we're better off as friends." Kagami managed to say. It was pretty obvious that the two of them were totally one second from just making out passionately in front of everyone.

"I-i like her... in _THAT_ way... but I doubt..." the Japanese fencer remained silent for the remainder. Marinette understood the situation. Unlike Chloe's parents, who were extremely supportive when Chloe came out as a lesbian after many male heartbreaks, Kagami's mother, or rather, her entire family were extremely strict.

If Kagami were to come out as bisexual to them, chances are she would've been shamed or even disowned, even if her sexuality meant that she also was attracted to men.

"Sorry about that. Anyways... how's the dress feel?" 

"Oh, I love it! It's better than anything my mother forces-, I mean, my mother 'prepares' for me to wear," Kagami quickly changed her words. Marinette mentally sighed. Kagami continued to massage a lovely smelling hair oil onto Marinette's hair roots. 

(Kagami's dress. I was originally gonna get her to wear a kimono, but I...UH! I just fucking love the design of the dress and couldn't help myself. I mean... it looks like one... a bit? It seems like a dress fit for Marinette, but I.D.G.A.F.)

**Two hours till the Agreste Gala:**

"Tim, does this suit make my ass look fat?" Dick bent over, looking in the mirror. 

"Yes," Tim was busy filing his nails. "Good." Dick continued to pose in the mirror, taking the occasional picture to send to Wally. At home, all their significant others were on stand-by on Batman's orders.

Novus, Ashe's girlfriend was the only one that would be present at the gala, as Bruce's new 'assistant.' 

"I mean, not gonna lie or anything... but I look _hot_ in this dress. I never noticed that!" Ashe strutted around in her seven inch heels, spinning around, watching the edges of her dress fly up like a butterfly.

You know?

_Y'KNOW?_

Cough.

"That's because you always tuxedos." Steph pulled the itchy sleeves of her dress down. Her tanned skin was already starting to grow red with irritation. 

"Goddammit! Why the fuck..." itch, itch. "Did I choose THIS dress?" Cass wrapped her arms her taller girlfriend's (StephCass for laifu) neck. "Because you look fucking hot in it," the ravenette kissed Steph's cheek. "Easy for you to say, in your fancy ass tuxedo." 

Cass let go of Steph, twirling onto the couch. "Are you all ready yet? Gabriel requested that we arrive early," Bruce entered the living room, putting on his navy blue tie. "Almost," Dick mumbled, bobby pins in his mouth. He fixed his hair up into a stylish half up - half down look. Some hair was tied into a bun, while the rest fell over his back. 

"Ready!"

"Good. Don't forget to turn on your comms."

Click.

Click.

"Hold on, lemme remove this one earring..." Ashe removed the diamond earring from her tragith. "Okay, done." 

**One hour till Agreste Gala:**

Gabriel stood watch as his maids and butlers hustled back and forth, setting down dishes, rearranging flowers. He didn't notice his son appearing at his side.

"The gala decorations are lovely, father." Gabriel looked to his side. Adrien was already dressed in his Gabriel brand tuxedo. His look was completed with his hair tied into a small ponytail. (Okay, I'll admit it. Guys with long hair are my favorite, don't judge me.)

"You look good, Adrien. Growing your hair out was a wise decision. You almost look like your mother."

Adrien bit his lip. "The League will be arriving today, right, father?" Gabriel nodded, pulling a locket out of his pocket. He used his thumb to open the golden latch. Inside was a small picture of Emilie. He closed it, putting it back into his pocket right as Natalie approached the two.

"Sir, the Wayne's have arrived." Gabriel adjusted his tie. "Good. Let them in." Natalie nodded. "Yes sir."

(The outfits in case you were wondering....

Steph:

I know, it looks extra, but that's how I like things. Extra. And poofy. Like dumplings without stuffing. 

Cass:

Dick, Bruce, Tim, Jason, Duke: legit just the same classic tuxedo

Dick's tie color: Teal

Jason: Red

Tim: Blue

Duke: Gray

Bruce: Navy blue

Ashe:

Call it extra, but I just love the design. Not to mention the cape add on makes it look like the Batman symbol.)

**30 minutes till Agreste Gala:**

"Hey! The limo's here!" Alix pointed to the long vehicle that Chloe had rented for the occasion. 

"Sweet!" 

[Time Skip]

"Brooooo! They got sparkling water in here!" Alix pulled out a very expensive glass bottle of tasteless fizzy water. 

"What else they got, dudette?" Nino asked. Alix rummaged around bottles of champagne. "Alcohol... gross... holy shIIIITTTT!" 

"What, what?!" Marinette was curious to see what her genderfluid buddy (I'm making Alix genderfluid because they just seem... genderfluid.) had dug up. Alix pulled out a box of red velvet flavored ice cream bars. 

"YOOOOOOOOO!" Nino grabbed the box, opening it. "Ice cream? In a limo? That's sick, dude!" 

"Hand me one!" Chloe was passed a cold, dark chocolate covered bar. "These things are the bestttttt! You want one, 'Gami?" Kagami's dragon-like eyes (See wut I did?) widened. "I can have SWEETS?!" Chloe arched an eyebrow. Kagami cleared her throat. "I-um... yes please."

She took the bar, slowly unwrapping it. "Is it supposed to be this... cold?" (I'm getting first time fucker vibes from here, limp dick motherfucker-)

Chloe nearly spat out her bite of creamy chocolate. "Wait... y-you never had ice cream?" 

"My mother doesn't allow me to eat sweets. She believes it will ruin my body's compatibility." 

Everyone frowned. Number One Mom goes to Kagami's mom. 

"Really?" Kagami nodded. "Well, now you got to try it!" 

"Are you sure?" Chloe nodded. Kagami blushed lightly. She hesitantly brought the ice cream to her lips, taking a small chunk of dripping chocolate off. 

"So... what do you think?"

**15 minutes till Agreste Gala:**

The Wayne Family all sat at a fairly large circle table, communicating through morse code. 

Some guest began to arrive, such as Mayor Bourgeois and his wife, Audrey and Jagged Stone. 

"Holy shit! It's Jagged Stone, it's Jagged Stone, it's Jagged-" 

"Bruce! It's been a while!" the JAGGED FUCKING STONE approached Bruce, shaking his hand. 

"Ah! It's nice to see you again, Jagged!" (I tried to find his real name, but apparently that IS his real name so-)

(End of Chapter 5! Sorry for ending this on a cliffhanger. I got bored, then I found a fanfic I wanted to read and yeah... this is it for now! I will post the outfits for the MPS in the next chapter. Sorry if this was kinda boring!)


	6. 6

The limo came to a stop in front of the Agreste mansion. The gates that were normally closed were wide open. A red carpet ran from where the limo was parked to the inside of the mansion. Photographers and interviewers were all lined against velvet stringed barricades, ranting questions and taking pictures. 

Nino walked out first, holding up a stylish black blanket so that the girl's could get out of the fucking car without some fucking idiot taking a fucking perverted fucking picture to fucking post to the fucking Internet to fucking blackmail fucking innocent fucking high school fucking girls. 

Kagami, then Chloe, Marinette, Juleka then Alix. 

A butler led them inside as an escort. Marinette was beyond excited. She wasn't really invited to fancy balls and parties like this, so this was like... _incoming Disney nerd shit_ -

_A whole, new world~_

Okay, I'm done. 

But another half of her wasn't. What if Chat didn't arrive? Tikki would most likely be gone forever and then she'd have to tell Master Fu-

And, oh shit. 

The group was led into the vast Agreste ballroom. Marinette's bluebell eyes widened at the sight. Tapestries in the colors white, grey, and black hung from the ceiling. A huge chandelier with polished opals and diamonds hanging from it hung from the center. Mini chandeliers with rubies and garnets also were scattered around the room in an organised diamond shape. 

The tables were lined with silky table cloths and salmon pink candles. On each of them a coal black vase filled with white to red hued orchids. Some tables had roses in the same color scheme. 

Oh my goooooddddd...

The Wayne family was presently sitting on the table, having a conversation with some fancy diplomatic figure. Bruce Wayne seemed to be really into the conversation while his kids seemed out of it.

Richard Grayson, based on what Marinette knew from watching the news was twirling a strand of loose hair around his finger, watching his younger siblings do stupid things. Sort of stupid things. Duke Thomas and Achaya Kuznetsov were both conversing something, snickering. Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown were flirting. Jason Todd and Timothy Drake were staring into space.

Marinette's smile faded a tad bit. This was the Wayne family?

She expected a family full of seriousness. All they seemed to be was a normal family. Maybe this stereotyping habit of hers was fucking with her head. 

"...nette! Marinette! Our table is this way!" Chloe grabbed Marinette's gloved hand, pulling her to their table. Folded cards with the gala schedule laid on top of exotic-shaped placemats of sheen pearl white. 

{ _Agreste Gala}_

_~On behalf of the partnership between the Agreste Company and Wayne Enterprises...~_

_Schedule:_

_7:00~Greetings/Speeches_

_8:00~Dinner_

_9:10-11:00~Open Ballroom_

_12:00~Exclusive Fashion Show/Firework Display_

Hm. Marinette was glad that she changed her choice of footwear at the last-minute from heels to flats. Otherwise, her ankles would probably snap as soon as she took one step out of her bedroom. Another bad reason would be her clumsiness.

Yup. She folded her paper shut, slapping it back onto the table. Tonight was going to be...

A looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong night.

[Time Skip] 

"...it was a pleasure... partnering with the Agreste Company. I have a feeling that with the advancements of Gabriel's company and my own, we can create a new sort of..." 

The Batkids were bored. Fuck. In. G. Bored. Jason and Tim were playing table football with Tim's folded schedule; Cass was asleep underneath her long bangs; Steph and Dick were in the middle of an intense game of 'sticks' underneath the table; Ashe was trying to put her left eye contact back over her amber colored eye.

Bruce's speech was just a tad bit longer than Gabriel's. _7:49_. He was already getting to his last four paragraphs, thank the lord. Dick checked his wristwatch. The League of Assassins were making their guessed arrival around midnight, via helicopter.

Up there, Emilie's body would be loaded onto the aircraft, heading back to their base. There she would probably be dunked into the Lazarus Pits; revived. Gabriel had probably paid several thousands, even MILLIONS of dollars for that. Ra's and Talia Al Ghul weren't exactly easy people to bargain with.

Clapping and some cheers sounded around the room. The Batkids perked up. Bruce finally finished his speech. He thanked everyone, did a small bow, and returned to his seat.

_7:57_

Around the room, caterers and butlers walked around, placing porcelain white plates onto everybody's spots. Beautiful maids placed napkin wrapped utensils next to them. Carts with all sorts of foods let out aromatic scents of herbed steaks and potatoes. For drinks, butlers came around pouring either champagne into the adult's glasses; or sparkling water into the younger one's glasses.

Gabriel stood up, holding up his fluke of bubbly alcohol. 

"I would like to make a toast to today's celebration," the ballroom shuffled with people getting up, also holding up their glasses. 

"Cul sec!" everybody took a swig of their drinks, draining them. 

Gabriel chuckled under his breath. Everybody sat back down, awaiting the food to be served.

(End of Chapter... number idk. Kinda short, I got too caught up in a manga. Thanks for reading!)

((Also, the outfits will be posted in the next chapter. I forgot to put them in, oof.))


	7. 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NONE OF THE OUTFIT DESIGNS ARE MINE! 
> 
> NOT MINE
> 
> NOT MINE
> 
> NOT MINE

Marinette's mouth began to water as butlers in sleek tuxedos began to bring out the food. The scents of pot-au-feu and bouillabaisse in beautifully decorated bowls were placed onto everyone's spot. 

Small quiche tarts were also put next to the main entree's. For drinks, the glasses were replaced with clean ones filled with a sparkling juice of sorts. Plates with some more exotic foods like escargot were settled in nicely, just barely touching the flower vases in the middle of the tables.

Kagami, Chloe, and Alix gave Nino a smirk, all holding about fifty euros each in hand ($56.35 USD), waving it around Nino's cringing face. Juleka snorted at the sight. It was pretty obvious that they were betting Nino on how many snails he could eat before throwing up. 

As immature as it was, it was also a nice way to get a hundred and fifty euros and a stomachache.

Gabriel once again stood up, "Bon appetit!" That signaled everyone to start eating. Kagami and Marinette both picked up their spoons, dipping it into the bouillabaisse, enjoying the seafood taste.

Chloe and Alix both ignored their food, watching as Nino used one of the expensive food picks to unshell the snail. He didn't seem disgusted - escargot was actually quite good. It was more grossed out at the texture. It was like a rubbery mushroom with some slime; but not a lot.

In the background, soft cello and violins played some soothing classical music. Normally Marinette would go for something, more... upbeat, or head-bop worthy, like Jagged Stone, but classical was nice too.

Juleka, being the precious music nerd she was, also seemed bored with the music, but nonetheless showed no emotion about it. She just continued to dip her piece of toasted baguette into some type of herbed marinara sauce. 

(The outfits:

Juleka:

Chloe:

(Lmao, this is from I used to play in third grade)

Kagami:

Marinette:

Alix:

Nino:

Black tuxedo, green tie. royalwindflower fuck you. I'm not telling you the fucking shade.

Everyone else; you cool.

(Back to the story)

[With the Batfam]

...

Jason took a sip of his soup while Dick casually deepthroated a large piece of baguette. 

"How the hell are you not choking?" he looked over at Dick.

"He has _experience_ , Jace! Not to mention his name is _Dick_!" Ashe said, taking one of her lactose pills. (Ashe is lactose intolerant)

"You call him Richie," Jason pointed out. "I have my reasons. Do you think a small two year old yelling, 'DICK!' sound like a sign of good parenting?"

"To be fair-"

"Can we just enjoy this meal without bringing up my parenting?" Bruce said through his hands. "Um...no," Tim happily dipped his mozzarella stick into his saucer of marinara sauce. Cass and Steph were both discussing what type of mysterious vegetable was in Steph's beef stew.

"Green bean?" Steph cringed. "No Cass, that's gross."

"It's a SNAP PEA!" Bruce exclaimed, honestly just done with his kid's shit. Well, actually, he was pretty much done when he realized on their car ride to the gala that one of his kids had snuck a toad into the car, planning on letting it loose during the gala.

The last time that happened, Bruce had to explain to the traumatized host why their was a toad happily frolicking around in the punch.

Or why all their toilets had thumb tacks attached the seats.

Or why all the seats were, now, stuck to the ceiling.

Duke was probably the only Batkid who didn't act like an idiot. Despite being the youngest middle child, he was probably the most mature; the one that acted the oldest.

"Hey, Duke, thanks for-"

Bruce turned to see Duke and Ashe quietly singing 'Under The Sea' to the clams and pieces of crab meat in their bouillabaisse. 

He heavily sighed, looking into his half-empty glass of wine. 

"Monsieur Bruce? Are you enjoying tonight's delicacies?" Gabriel showed up at the side of the table. "Yes, the soup is delicious. I think with the appetizers and this entree tied together, it all combines into one extremely ripe sort of flavor. Your chefs are incredible," he complimented.

"Thank you. I had gourmet chefs from all over the world come here today to prepare all this food for everyone," he said, pushing up his glasses. Stop flexing on the billionaire, you useless millionaire.

"I see. You have good taste then," Bruce took another spoonful of his soup. He jerked his left hand. Tim and Ashe perked up at the motion. The two youngest Batfam members shared the same evil Batsmirk, slipping something under the table.

A small nano-spider programmed and built by the two (with the help from Babs) crawled underneath, silenting beeping.

It scanned the area with its miniscule sensor before falling to the floor, quietly slinking under the table cloth, onto Gabriel's dress shoe, and finally, under his pants, crawling up his legs. The gadget was equipped with motionless type 'feet', so Gabriel wouldn't feel it up his leg.

Tim gave Bruce a wink which he pulled off as a way to get 'dust' out of his eye. Bruce gave him a swift nod. "Well then. I suppose it's about time for desert," Gabriel checked his watch. "I'll see you later, Monsieur. I must go talk to the chefs."

Bruce bid him 'good-bye.' When the gelled up sewer rat was gone, a girl with extremely curly lilac hair approached him.

"Annyeong, Bruce," she greeted him, clipboard in hand. "Novus! You've arrived!" he smiled at Ashe's girlfriend. She was his 'personal assistant' for the night, a disguise used often by the vigilante. "Nova! How was the lounge?" Ashe got up. "It was nice! It was kind of awkward, 'cause everyone spoke French, but I did find someone who spoke German!"

The heterochromatic girl hugged Nova. "Did you get the data?" she whispered behind a curtain of hair. "Yup," she patted the side of her small satchel. Inside was multiple hard drives with the information the League sent to Gabriel.

"That's good. Now sit down! They're serving cheesecake!"

"Did you take your lactose pill?"

"No duh!" 

Plates of cheesecake were passed out. Each one was decorated differently. Some had a raspberry or blackberry dressing over it, while some were topped with a fruity glaze, presumably made by strawberries.

Macarons were also handed out - Dick enjoyed those a lot. 

As they were eating, they couldn't help but notice a girl with gorgeous blue locks sneaking quick glances at their table. It wasn't unusual for them to get stared at. But this seemed like a different kind of stare.

It was like she was trying to make eye contact with one of them, as in become their friend.

Ashe gave her a quick wave. She saw the girl gasp, turn pink, then turn back to her dessert.

"Who were you waving to?" Nova poked at the smushy berry on her slice of cake. "That girl seemed to be looking at us. I wanted to say 'hi.'"

She tilted her head back, looking at the back of the girl's head.

"Hm. I think I know her. Her parents delivered the macarons and cheesecake," Nova recalled, thinking back to when she saw Gabriel talking to a buff man with a moustache and a short Asian woman.

"Ah! You must be talking about the Dupain-Chengs!" 

"Yah!" Duke's fork clattered out of his hand. 

"Sorry about that. I'm Adrien Agreste, the son of Gabriel?" he held his gloved hand out. Bruce shook it. "I've heard about you. You're a model, right?" Adrien nodded. "Yes sir. Model, voice actor, activist." Bruce seemed impressed. All the Batkids scowled. What did this prissy priss boy have that they didn't, to make Bruce impressed?

He had brain cells, that's what. Like two, tops. 

"I heard you've been looking for a model... for your _merchandise_?" Oh ho. Now he was just TRYING to piss off the Batkids.

Ever since... for fucking ever, they'd always been the ones to model the clothing his company designed. No way in hell-

"I am. Are you perhaps interested?"

Jason snorted, pinching his nose to prevent water from spraying out. Cass and Steph seemed shook. Tim looked tired. Mood.

(End of Chapter... 7? Right? On a cliffhanger, 'cause I have no inspiration. Also, here's Novus' dress:

(TA-DA! Alright, thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!)


	8. 8

"I hope you all enjoyed the tasteful desserts prepared by my chefs," Gabriel said, microphone in hand. "We will begin this lovely evening's festivities, beginning with a dance." plates were collected, glasses were drained, and a small group of semi-drunk diplomats slurred in French.

So this was a famous Agreste Gala. 

Marinette and her friends all got up. The dance floor was just...

DAYUMMMMM...

Diamonds refracted rainbow patterns onto the floor as the lights slowly dimmed. 

Slow, violin music began to play sweetly in the background. 

People began to make their way over, some holding hand with their significant other, some perhaps looking for a dance partner. 

First things first though - Alix and Marinette snuck up behind Kagami and Chloe, pushing them. 

"MarinETTE!" Chloe toppled over, only to be caught by Kagami. Blushes glowed on their cheeks. From a distance, Audrey and Andre Bourgeois watched, nodding their heads in approval. Marinette flashed them a quick thumbs up. 

"I-uh"

"S-sorry, are you-"

"Urm-"

The music began to slow, meaning that it was time for them to begin their slow dances. 

"Do... you, uh... want to dance, Kagami?" Chloe looked down at her feet, hiding her flushed face. Kagami bit her lip. Chloe seemed anxious. Kagami exhaled, relaxing her shoulders. 

"I would love too-"

Marinette pushed the two towards the dance floor. 

"Okaynowgodanceyoutwofuckinglovebirds!" she grinned. Kagami and Chloe playfully glared at her. 

Chloe held her out to Kagami. She took it, rosy blush growing a deeper shade. The two gracefully walked out to the middle, getting in position. Chloe put her hands around Kagami's waist. Kagami put her hands on Chloe's shoulders. Together, they began to sway to the beat, like everyone else. 

"I... wasn't expecting that," Nino seemed surprised. Marinette laughed. _Now..._

Juleka looked around the room. 

"Hey, Julie? Nino? Ali? I'll be right back! I'm going to go find... ur, my... breath mints!" 

"Um... okay?" they all stared at the awkward Marinette like she was some sort of outer space cretin. 

Marinette smiled and clumsily wandered off. She was looking for a certain light to Juleka's dark. However, in the midst of her search, she slammed into someone. 

"I am SO so...r..ry..." all too familiar eyes peered into hers.

A blush was sprouting on her freckled cheek. 

Sure, she'd just bumped into this... freakishly handsome man...

But...

Wasn't it too early?

Too fall in love?

The male had a sharp jawline that made him look like an Arabic model for cologne. His skin had a tan tone to it and his jet black hair was gelled back, with some stray hairs falling over his face. And his eyes...

They gave off a sinister stare of distaste. His irises were... a ravishing shade of green. Like emeralds. 

Where did she see th-

"Are you okay, جميلة?" (Translation: Beautiful)

Marinette sputtered something along the lines of 'sorry' and 'you're handsome,' running off. He sullenly stared in the direction she ran off. 

_'Damian.'_ his comm buzzed. He put a finger to it. 

'Yes mother?' he spoke in a husky voice, answering in Arabic. 

' _Did you locate the girl?'_

'I did.'

_'Good. Keep an eye on her.'_

'Yes.'

His comm buzzed off, leaving him to be bombarded by French girls tossing themselves onto him, asking for a dance. 

"Dance with me, sir?"

"No."

"What? Why? You're not here with anyone, why not-" he wrestled his arm out of the girl's grasp. 

"I said _NO_."

Damian fumed, storming off. 

And then guess what happened?

"Hey hot stuff~" a voice whispered into his ear. Damian inhaled sharply.

"What do you want."

"I wanted to know if you would like to join me for a dance-"

"No."

"Awww~ why not? I'm hotter than ALL the other girls here. All the attention would be on us."

"And?"

He internally smirked. Damian could tell that this girl was getting irritated by his rejection. He turned around to find a sausage with fake twelve inch eyelashes caked with clumpy mascara. Damian nearly gagged when he saw her.

Standing there in all her 'go die'ness was Lila Rossi herself with her usual sausage hair in a up-do with, get this, more sausages hanging down. Her dress was a hideous shade of sparkly orange with these ridiculous frills. Not to mention, it was pretty obvious that she had stuffed her bra to fit the sleeveless dress. Hell, if someone were to step on the obnoxious trail of tulle coming from the back, the entire thing would just, slip off. 

"Lila Rossi. Model for Vogue."

Damian 'tt'ed. "I didn't know barf bags were considered fashion. Nice sausages," he shoved his hands into his pockets, going elsewhere. 

Lila gawked, speechless. Good. Keep it that way. Another girl, presumably her friend gasped, glaring at Damian.

As he walked around, he somehow managed to make eye contact with Bruce Wayne. 

Green looked into blue.

Damian blinked, breaking the contact. He ended up bumping into someone, mumbling a small 'sorry.'

He eventually found an empty balcony and just spent his time leaning against the railing.

"Who was that?" Ashe asked Nova as they worked around another dancing couple. Nova shrugged. 

"I dunno. This is really boring isn't it?" Nova smirked, knowing entirely too well that her overly energetic girlfriend was just urging to do something other than slow dance. Sure, she loved dancing, but galas? Pshaw. Nothing exciting really happens.

"Yeah, I-" wavy blue hair caught her attention. "I have an idea." 

"What do you-" Nova was dragged past all sorts of people. "Achaya, where are we go-"

"Bonjour!" Ashe planted herself in front of a cute bluenette. 

"Oh, uh- bonjour!" Marinette's mouth opened so wide, you could fit a d-

I'll leave that your imagination.

;))

"I love your dress!"

"Thanks! I made it myself!" she shyly replied. Ashe smiled. 

"I'm Achaya Saengfa-Kuznetsov. You can just call me Ashe Wayne. Or just Ashe. Ashie? Whatever works for you, I'm fine with!"

Marinette returned the smile. "Thanks. I'm Marinette Dupain-Cheng-"

Gentle hands spotted with freckles grabbed onto her shoulders.   
  


"Your parents are literal angels." Marinette grinned at Nova. Ashe coughed into her hand. Nova let go of Marinette.

"Sorry about that. I have a huge sweet tooth. Novus Seo-yeon Bahrenburg," she held her hand out. Marinette shook it.

"You guys are speak really good French-"

"Ashie? Nova? Where-" ocean blue eyes fixated on Marinette. 

"Oh, my lord. Hi!" Richard Grayson squealed. Marinette seemed confused. Next thing she knew she was surrounded by Jason Todd, Timothy Drake, Cassandra Cain, Stephanie Brown, and Duke Thomas. 

She had internally dubbed herself 'a Wayne magnet.' Yup. Magnet.

(t.b.c in the next chapter because my lazy ass wants to read a Sendak/Lotor fanfic instead of getting to the good shit. Blame the fanfic, not me. Thanks for reading!)


	9. 9

**(Just, a question, do any of you actually translate the chapter titles?)**

Marinette felt overwhelmed. 

Because, _in the daytime, she was Marinette. Just a normal girl, with a normal life. But there was something about her that know one knows yet, 'cause she has a secret._

_She lives a life, that's full of fun, it keeps her sharp and on the run-_

Okay, that's enough. 

Really, it was odd, how of all the other, way cooler people attending this gala, one of the most important families in the world scoped out her.

Not Chloe, not Kagami. Just her.

"I-um-"

"Hold that for a sec, dear. Guys, back up, I think we're too close!" Dick, with his big brother senses, knew when anybody was feeling uncomfortable.

"Okay!"

"Sure."

"Did that girl just lose her hair extension in the chocolate fountain?"

"I think the champagne I snuck a drink of is kicking in."

"Of course it is, Tim- wait, whAT?!"

"Sorry about that! My fami-"

"Do you want to meet our dad?" Ashe interrupted Dick. Marinette's bluebell eyes widened. 

"W-wait. Like, I can... talk to him? And everything?"

Heterochromatic eyes twinkled. Next thing poor Marinette knew, she was being pulled past food stands, people, and tables till she eventually arrived in front of one specific table. 

Sitting there was Jagged Stone himself, talking to Bruce Wayne, himself, by themselves.

"Pops, Jagged, I'd like to introduce-"

"Marinette! It's been so long! How had my honorary niece been?" Jagged got up, opening his arms to embrace his 'niece.' Marinette hugged back - it's been nearly four years since she last saw her 'uncle.' 

"I've been good! I made friends with some old rivals and now we're all doing magnificent!" she grinned. Jagged laughed. "That's good!" 

"Have you been in any sort of... relationship...?~" he whispered, smirking. Marinette squacked, flushing a cherry red. Clearing her throat, she ignored her blush, using her reverse psychology charm on the singer.

"Have you?~" Jagged's eyes widened. "Hm. I have a Canadian boyfriend that remixes my songs."

Wait a minute.

"W-wait... weren't you dating Ms. Rolling?" 

"Oh, I forgot to mention that. Us three are in a polyamorous relationship."

That made more sense. A cough from Ashe brought them back to what Marinette came to this table for. 

"Oop! I'm so sorry!" she apologized. Ashe simply chuckled. 

"Dad, this is..." she glanced over at Marinette, waiting for her to introduce herself. 

"I'm M-marinette Dupain-Cheng! It's a pleasure to meet you, Monsieur Wayne!"

She was expecting him to give her one of his infamous 'hm's' and ignore her, but he instead greeted her with a warm smile.

"Please, call me Bruce," Marinette internally howled, thinking about Tikki's _'Brucipher'_ fanfiction. Tikki...

"I, uh- I wanted to..." she stuttered, nervously fiddled with her hands behind her back. "I wanted your thoughts on... my latest line of fashion!" Marinette pulled out her phone, pulling up an album in her camera roll. 

She handed her phone to Bruce, awaiting his response. He looked through the pictures. 

"I-i understand if you don't like any of them! They're just some American heroes I idol..." she nervously tinkered with the ribbon on the back of her dress. Bruce's face lit up. 

"You've heard of the Batfamily?" he smiled. 

"I have! Batman is one of the people I look up to most!" she grinned. _'Shit, that was fucking awkward. Way to go, Marie.'_

Bruce warmly nodded. "I see. We've encountered him multiple times back in Gotham." 

"Wah?! You've met him?" she gawked. Bruce chuckled while Ashe held a hand over her mouth, trying to keep herself from laughing. 

"I guess you can say that." Bruce handed her her phone back. "I especially like the Batman one. I think the trench coat is a lovely touch. And the symboled necklace. I might have to recommend you to Batman." 

Marinette's eyes widened. "You would do that?!" 

Bruce nodded. Marinette thanked him over and over again, only to stop when she saw Chloe approaching her. 

"Marinette! There you are! I've been looking for you everywhere!" the blonde stopped to look at where Marinette was. Bruce... _BRUCE WAYNE_?! AND _JAGGED STONE_? 

"Sorry about that! I've just been talking to Bruce about some of my designs," she said. Chloe exhaled. She had thought that Marinette had been kidnapped by some drunk weirdo. Instead she was busy oogling over meeting a world-famous billionaire. 

"You must be Chloe Bourgeois!" Bruce held out his hand. Chloe shook it. 

"That's correct!"

Before anyone could say another word, Gabriel stood up, microphone in hand. 

"Ladies and gentlemen," he said. "If you would all gather towards the catwalk, that would be splendid. It's almost time for this night's celebratory fashion show!" 

Cheers and claps. 

"That's what I came here to find you for. Nino and Alixandria **(I'm making Alix's name Alixandria because of Alexandria, Egypt, and like, her dad and bro know shit loads about that- did you ever make that connection?)** saved us some spots right in front of the catwalk. Let's go!" 

"Oh, uh. It was really nice meeting you Bruce. And it was good to see you again, 'uncle.' See you around Ashe?" 

"Of course! See ya!" Marinette smiled, only to, for the fifteenth fucking time that hour, got pulled around people, carts, you know the drill. Chloe set Marinette right next to Kagami. 

"Now, I'm gonna go find Julie and Rose," she said. 

"But what if you miss-" 

"I'll be fine. I already saw the outfits earlier." 

Chloe hurried off. Marinette shrugged, nudging Nino. He grinned at her before turning back to the stage. The lights around the stage swirled around, illuminating on the ceiling. 

"As most of you know, I always do a charity meeting at the end of every show... for this gala, one raffled person will be able to go backstage and meet the models... as well as get a chance to talk to some of the most world-famous fashion icons." 

Some claps. Some cheers. Marinette was beyond excited. If she got picked she would have the chance to...

 _If she got picked_...

She quickly shook away the thought of not being chosen and instead chose to pay attention to the show, which was about to begin. 

"For this line, I was widely inspired by the great desert terrain of Tarout Island in Saudi Arabia, that I just had to make the first one, a hijabi-friendly look, complete with a bedazzled mask," the model walked out, and damn. 

Her hijab was a tanned color with a gold tint to it. Her makeup was extremely dramatic; two fake lashes poked out from the corners of her eyelids, giving her a cartoon effect. For her outfit, she wore a bodysuit decorated with golden beads and threads in the form of a sun. Over that, a light tulle dress was placed over it, tied in the middle with a silk ribbon the color of mocha. 

The model's mask was also beaded - glass and clay, with traditional designs etched in on the edges, where the largest bead resided.

Marinette wasn't sure where he got the inspiration, besides Saudi Arabia, but she was _digging_ these designs. 

Out walked the next model, this time a man, with a similar mask, but different outfit. He wore a robe of murky blue, topped off with a golden Cleopatra-style necklace holding it in place. His pants were loose and baggy, with slits in the side that revealed tattoos in a foreign language. Vials of water were tied to his waist from a belt, clacking together with every movement. 

Now that he was at the edge of the stage, Marinette was now able to see who he clearly was. 

_'Wait...'_ sharp emerald eyes stared directly at her. She quietly 'eeped' and looked away. 

He posed for a close minute, letting the crowd and photographers capture the entirety of his outfit. 

"This outfit was inspired by the waters of the Dead Sea," Gabriel said, sounding extremely smug. "In fact, the vials of water on his belt are a sign of purification. The blues all match up with the salty waters of the nourishing Dead Sea." 

The audience 'oohed' in appreciation, waiting for the next model. 

[Backstage]

Damian internally cursed as he was forced back into a styling chair, mask off, and still in the ridiculous outfit Gabriel called fashion. (I mean, I would wear it, but-) 

The makeup artist began to wipe off all the foundation she practically smacked onto his face, humming a song under her breath. 

"Damian! Your outfit for the last moments of the show is right here," Natalie, Gabriel's assistant rolled over an extremely exposed outfit to the side of his vanity. 

"Thanks..."   
  
"No problem." she turned on her heels, walking over to another 'model,' speaking to her in surprisingly good Arabic. 

He sullenly looked at the outfit he would be forced to wear as a 'model.' 

_'Dear God, if this doesn't get us the girl, then I don't know what will_ ,' he thought as a new layer of eyeshadow was placed over his eyelids. 

[Back at the catwalk]

"...the beautiful midnight lights reflecting on the waters of the beach I took walks on gave me the idea of this lovely fit." 

Black bodysuit, sheets of metal wrapped around the bodice, silvery threads in spirals tying the entire thing together. It looked too much like armor than an outfit you would wear on a daily basis. 

A couple more outfits. 

"And finally, to wrap up this evening's gala fashion show, I present to you," there was a dramatic pause. The lights on the catwalk brightened. There he was! 

The same guy, that SAME guy that she had bumped in to. Dead Sea water guy! Was...

 _'OH nO He'S HOt!'_ Marinette drastically turned redder than the fabric he was wearing. Red silk draped over his shoulders, exposing his abs. His pants were still loose; but extremely see-through. Thank god for boxers...

His left eye was painted in some intricate Arabic symbol. Bangles made of turquoise and carved topaz jangled on his wrist. His mask was a solid maroon with a gold etching. 

Finally, came the moment everyone was waiting for. 

"Well then! That wraps up this gala's fashion display... now, for the promised charity meeting, I have a very special guest here to pick today's lucky guest... _Chat Noir_!" Marinette clenched her teeth. The audience all clapped and squealed at the mysterious appearance of one of Paris' beloved heroes. 

_HIM?! WHAT THE HELL WAS HE DOING HERE!_

Chat's costume was completely different as well. His longer hair was now braided into a 'cat tail,' like when Marinette was Lady Noir and lime green accents ran up down his bodysuit, now complete with a waist - cape thing. 

"Thank you, Monsieur Agreste," Marinette squinted. Why was his voice so familiar? **('Cause it's Adrien you dumbass-)**

Gabriel pulled up a tinted glass bowl filled to the brim with little slips of golden paper. 

"Each and every single guests name is in this bowl... right now." Chat smirked. 

_Look for the one with the red dot_. 

The red dot was to act as a 'laser point,' so that Chat's feline side would be able to see and try to find it, just like a normal cat. 

"Now, Chat? Please pick one," Gabriel sinisterly smiled. Chat nodded. 

"Of course," he reached his clawed hand to the bowl, rubbing the tip of his index finger around the bowl, before plunging his hand in. 

_'Red dot... red dot...'_

Marinette bit her lip, crossing her fingers behind her back. Nino and Alix were internally praying, hoping that Marinette would be chosen. Chloe, now back with Juleka and Rose was leaning against Kagami, repeating 'Marinette, Marinette,' over and over again in her head. 

Chat's slit eyes landed on the dotted slip. _'Bullseye.'_

He grabbed it, pulling it out. 

Chat handed it to Gabriel, who had set the bowl down. The audience was filled with suspense as they awaited the reveal. 

_Marinette Dupain-Cheng_. 

"Is there a Marinette Dupain-Cheng?"  
  


Marinette nearly fainted. "Y-yes, me!" she slowly raised her hand. Beside her, the MPS were all cheering for her. 

Gabriel grinned. "Well, then, come right up, Marinette." he motioned towards the side staircase that lead up to the catwalk. _'Stairs,'_ she hurriedly walked up the lit stairs, trying her best not to let her clumsy side fuck something up and embarrass herself in front of everyone. 

She successfully made it onto the catwalk without any flops, thank ya lord. 

She and Gabriel shook hands. When it came time for Chat, they hugged, only for Chat to whisper something in Mandarin to her. 

_"I hope you brought what I requested_ ," Marinette's eyes widened in fury. When they seperated, Marinette was able to see some people from the crowd. Lila and Alya's mouth were open in anger and shock. The family were all smiling and giving her thumbs up. Well, at least Duke, Steph and Jason were. The rest of the family were nowhere to be seen. 

[With the Batfam]

Here they were, back at it again in the vents. Ashe, again, was at the top, followed by Tim, then Dick. Cass and Bruce were busy in the booterfloo lair, currently watching the meeting that was taking place. 

Multiple assassins, all women strapped leather straps to Emilie Agreste's case, before slowly tilting it to a 180 degree angle. One of the assassins placed a 'wagon' under it. Connecting the clips to the wagon, they began to wheel it away.

_'Tim - Ashe - Dick: They're heading your way.'_

"Got it!" Ashe used the back of her heeled boots to kick the vent top up like she did a couple days ago. The trio piled out, ducking behind an A/C unit. Sure enough, a helicopter was already there. 

Armed assassins stood guard, katanas and shuriken at the ready. 

"There they are," Dick pointed at the incoming rumbling from the elevator. Yes, it's an elevator. Don't ask. 

A couple seconds later, like they predicted, the case holding Emilie, alongside the ass escorts arrived. They began to load the coffin into the helicopter. 

_"Now?"_ Tim whispered. Dick nodded. The Drake pulled a folded tracker bot out of his pant pocket. Ashe did the same thing, except instead of a bot, she pulled out a programmed USB. 

_"You got the remote, Dick?"_ Dick pulled out a remote that looked more like a Firestick remote. Tim and Ashe grinned under their masks. Tim pressed a couple buttons on the bot, bringing it to life. A light blinked on it. 

_"Good. Dick, do it."_ he nodded. Tim plopped the bot on top of the A/C box. Dick turned on the remote control. Another light blinked on the bot. _Connected_. 

Dick began to lead the tracker bot to the helicopter till it eventually hooked itself up on the bottom of it. A green dot blipped on the remote, stating that the tracker was implanted. 

After a close thirty seconds of celebration time, Dick alerted Bruce. 

_"Tracker in place. We got insights on Mrs. Agreste's case."_

_**"Good. Cassandra and I will see you there."** _

_"You got it."_

[Catwalk]

"That wraps up this gala's main event! Now for the firework show! May you all move towards the balconies and viewing decks for the extravagant show to begin?" 

The crowd moved like he asked, all of them murmuring in excitement at the firework show. Another thing the Agreste Gala's were known for were their extra shows. 

"And Miss Marinette? May you please follow me backstage to meet the models?" Chat gently pushed her behind the curtains to find...

_"YOU."_

Katanas surrounded her in a circle. Standing in the middle was the same guy from...

"I thought you were on MY side," she said. 

"You shouldn't trust people you just met. Night night, little ladybug."

"WHAT ARE YOU-" Chat's baton slammed against her head, knocking her out.

(t.b.c) 


	10. 10

"This does mean that my mom will be revived, right?" Chat watched as an assassin wrapped heavy chains around Marinette. 

"Only if we get what my grandfather wanted from Gabriel," Damian said. Chat snorted. 

"You can get the miraculous to work with this thing," Chat tossed over a small jewelry sack. Damian caught it. 

"Right. A kwami." 

"Yeah..." Chat put his arms over his hand, resting. 

"Plagg, claws in." his costume faded back to Adrien's tuxedo, his longer hair still in its ponytail. 

"Well then. Will you be leaving at this time?" Gabriel appeared. Damian checked his watch. He told something to a fellow assassin before turning back to Gabriel. 

"We secured your wife's case in the helicopter. We'll be taking her with us."

"Of course. When will she be revived?" Gabriel smirked. Damian narrowed his eyes. 

"That's up for my grandfather to decide. Goodbye Gabriel," he walked out, assassins carrying Marinette behind him. Gabriel and Adrien watched as they exited out the door that lead out of the backstage area. 

They were now outside, surrounded by fence. Damian ordered a empty-handed assassin to toss their grappling hook. She did as she told, handing the 'gun' end to Damian. He took it, retracting the hook, bringing him up. Once he was up on the roof, he tossed down a rope. 

One by one, the group of fifteen assassins climbed up. The last one strapped Marinette onto his back, climbing up like it was nothing. Rope was pulled up, reattached to Damian's belt. 

Waiting there, was the guarded helicopter. 

[Arabic]

"Do you have Agreste's case ready?" a guard nodded. "Good. Start preparation back to the hideout." 

~

 _"That's Marinette!"_ Tim noticed the unconscious form of Marinette, chained to someone's back. Anger flared through all three siblings. Sure, they'd just met Marinette an hour ago, but they've already decided that if anything were to happen to the precious girl, they'd kill everyone in their sight before themselves. 

_"Shit, where?!"_ Ashe swapped the lenses of her goggles with a simple _click_ of a switch. _"Don't tell me..."_

_"That must mean that she's... Ladybug."_

_"Like, THE Ladybug?!"_

_"Yeah. In the USB's Nova stole for us, there was all sorts of information about her, including a couple pictures of her Ladybug transformation."_

_"Creepy, but... why?"_ Tim asked. 

_"Not really sure... but I think it has something to do with these earrings of hers."_

_"Strange."_

The sounds of a chains clinking interrupted their info share. Marinette was tossed to the floor. A trickle of blood spilled from her forehead. That set the trio _OFF_. 

Ashe grabbed a batarang from her thigh pouch, tossing it in their direction. It embedded itself in an assassin's shoulder. 

"AGH!" Damian looked at who made the noise. 

"What is the matter?" his eyes averted to the strangled grabbing at the object that was stuck in their shoulder. He walked over, ripping it out, ignoring the scream of pain from the weakling. 

_'A batarang, huh?'_ he felt along the ridges. "I know your there. Show yourself." 

Dick, Tim, and Ashe slowly stood up, weapons at the ready. Escrima sticks, baton, and a feather sword. 

"Ah. Nightwing, Red Robin, and Dark Angel. I knew you had something to do with this." 

"What the hell are you planning to do with Marinette?" Ashe growled, gripping her feather tighter. Damian 'tt'ed. He turned to the helicopter pilot, mumbling something to him. 

"That's none of your concern." 

"I believe it is." 

Batman and Cass arrived behind him, giving him a severe Batglare. 

"Surprising. Mother told me you were all about the League back then."

"All in order to take it down." 

"Tt. Of course. Well then. That must not be hereditary."

"What are you talking about?" Tim snarled. Damian chuckled under his breath. Looking right into Batman's eye slots, he inhaled, before: 

"I expected someone taller. Shocking, _FATHER_." 

(t.b.c because I have a....

_Headache!~~~~~ )_


	11. 11

_**Previously on 'The Things You For Love,'** _

**"This does mean that my mom will be revived, right?" Chat watched as an assassin wrapped heavy chains around Marinette.**

**"Only if we get what my grandfather wanted from Gabriel," Damian said. Chat snorted.**

**"You can get the miraculous to work with this thing," Chat tossed over a small jewelry sack. Damian caught it.**

**"Right. A kwami."**

**"Yeah..." Chat put his arms over his hand, resting.**

**"Plagg, claws in." his costume faded back to Adrien's tuxedo, his longer hair still in its ponytail.**

**"Well then. Will you be leaving at this time?" Gabriel appeared. Damian checked his watch. He told something to a fellow assassin before turning back to Gabriel.**

**"We secured your wife's case in the helicopter. We'll be taking her with us."**

**"Of course. When will she be revived?" Gabriel smirked. Damian narrowed his eyes.**

**"That's up for my grandfather to decide. Goodbye Gabriel," he walked out, assassins carrying Marinette behind him. Gabriel and Adrien watched as they exited out the door that lead out of the backstage area.**

**They were now outside, surrounded by fence. Damian ordered a empty-handed assassin to toss their grappling hook. She did as she told, handing the 'gun' end to Damian. He took it, retracting the hook, bringing him up. Once he was up on the roof, he tossed down a rope.**

**One by one, the group of fifteen assassins climbed up. The last one strapped Marinette onto his back, climbing up like it was nothing. Rope was pulled up, reattached to Damian's belt.**

**Waiting there, was the guarded helicopter.**

**[Arabic]**

**"Do you have Agreste's case ready?" a guard nodded. "Good. Start preparation back to the hideout."**

**~**

**_"That's Marinette!"_ Tim noticed the unconscious form of Marinette, chained to someone's back. Anger flared through all three siblings. Sure, they'd just met Marinette an hour ago, but they've already decided that if anything were to happen to the precious girl, they'd kill everyone in their sight before themselves.**

**_"Shit, where?!"_ Ashe swapped the lenses of her goggles with a simple _click_ of a switch. _"Don't tell me..."_**

_**"That must mean that she's... Ladybug."** _

_**"Like, THE Ladybug?!"** _

_**"Yeah. In the USB's Nova stole for us, there was all sorts of information about her, including a couple pictures of her Ladybug transformation."** _

**_"Creepy, but... why?"_ Tim asked.**

_**"Not really sure... but I think it has something to do with these earrings of hers."** _

_**"Strange."** _

**The sounds of a chains clinking interrupted their info share. Marinette was tossed to the floor. A trickle of blood spilled from her forehead. That set the trio _OFF_.**

**Ashe grabbed a batarang from her thigh pouch, tossing it in their direction. It embedded itself in an assassin's shoulder.**

**"AGH!" Damian looked at who made the noise.**

**"What is the matter?" his eyes averted to the strangled grabbing at the object that was stuck in their shoulder. He walked over, ripping it out, ignoring the scream of pain from the weakling.**

**_'A batarang, huh?'_ he felt along the ridges. "I know your there. Show yourself."**

**Dick, Tim, and Ashe slowly stood up, weapons at the ready. Escrima sticks, baton, and a feather sword.**

**"Ah. Nightwing, Red Robin, and Dark Angel. I knew you had something to do with this."**

**"What the hell are you planning to do with Marinette?" Ashe growled, gripping her feather tighter. Damian 'tt'ed. He turned to the helicopter pilot, mumbling something to him.**

**"That's none of your concern."**

**"I believe it is."**

**Batman and Cass arrived behind him, giving him a severe Batglare.**

**"Surprising. Mother told me you were all about the League back then."  
**

**"Only to take it down."**

**"Tt. Of course. Well then. That must not be hereditary."**

**"What are you talking about?" Tim snarled. Damian chuckled under his breath. Looking right into Batman's eye slots, he inhaled, before:**

**"I expected someone taller. Shocking, _FATHER_." **

_~_

"FATHER?!" 

"Listen, I don't know what type of _bullshit_ , the League has been hand feeding you, but we can assure you that Batman doesn't have any other kids than _us._ He would of told us anyways," Ashe growled.

"Not to mention, he isn't seeing anyone at the moment, so he never had the _chance_ to have a kid, unless it meant adopting... to which he would tell us," Dick noted, gripping his escrima sticks even tighter. 

"Maybe now... but... what about the past?" Damian replied. 

Everyone but Batman opened their mouths to object, only to close them again. Ashe and Dick, the ones who were first adopted by Batman seemed shocked. Nowhere in their memories did they remember Batman meeting up with a League of Shadows- 

(I was going to put 'assassins' but 'League of Assassin's assassin) 

-assassin. Maybe in private, but even THEY knew what he was doing. 

"Talia and I's relationship is in the past. That's not what we're here for. We're here for the girl," Batman broke the tension. 

"I'm afraid not. We already claimed her. She'll be presented to my grandfather as an offering from the Agreste's." 

"Bitch, better not," Tim leapt over the A/C box, landing next to Batman. 

"I'll make sure that you get what hell gives you," Ashe stood, obsidian black wings shadowing behind them all. 

"Release her. **_NOW_.**" 

Damian drew his katana. "I don't think I will. Orders are orders. And those who defy them," he placed the tip of it right against Marinette's neck. "...shall end up dead." 

This situation was getting severe. 

One wrong move, and Marinette would be dead in a puddle of her own crimson blood. 

Or, they would lose Marinette. 

And that couldn't happen. 

~

"Marinette must be having the time of her life backstage," Alix watched in awe as they recorded the whole firework show for Marinette to watch. 

"Yeah... shouldn't she be out by now, though? I'm kind of getting the feeling that something's wrong, zude..." Nino leant on Alix's shoulder.

(Zude - non-binary/genderfluid/no gender way of saying 'dude') 

"I thought I was the only one," Chloe gasped. 

"Ditto," Juleka mumbled, anxiously looking behind her in hopes of finding clumsy Marinette. 

"I thought the same. Chloe, how long do those backstage meet and greets last, normally?" Kagami asked. Chloe put a finger to her chin, resting her arm on her hand. 

"Twenty minutes or so? Sometimes longer... I think the longest one was about fifty minutes... but that's 'cause they had a translator to explain everything to these Vietnamese models." 

"Ah... that might be it. I still think we should check." 

"Yeah..." Chloe pursed her lips. "Anyone want to come check with me? Something isn't sitting well with me. And no, it is not the food. It's a feeling. Nino, shut up." 

Nino pouted. 

(t.b.c 'cause I have no inspiration and I'm kind of slacking off rn. I know this is getting really long and you just want me to get to the point already, buttttttt.... patience, my dear Watsons. If you get my reference, I'll platonically love you even more.) 


	12. 12

"Don't touch her!" Tim barked. Damian only pressed the tip of his blade further against Marinette's skin, drawing blood. 

"YOU!" Ashe swung her feather sword, attempting to slice at Damian. A batarang cut through it, not damaging it, but stopping it from landing a hit on Damian. 

"WHAT THE HELL ?!" she screamed. 

"No _killing_ ." Batman glared. Ashe curled her lip up in annoyance. 

"No killing? Mother told me you were one who wouldn't hesitate to kill." 

"I had a reason. You and the League can't go around killing people for no reason," Batman said. 

"Well, guess what? I now have a reason, Father!" Damian's sword pierced through Batman's torso, coming through the back. Damian smirked in triumph, only to see that Batman seemed ...

Unaffected? 

A static-y wave ran through it. 

"A hologram?!" Damian hissed. From behind another A / C box, Nova and Jason, alongside Oracle's little visual bot watched as the miniscule box displaying the hologram blinked red. The two ducked down in union, hearing the warning whistling, before: 

_KABLAM!_

Red smoke filled the area, blinding Damian and some of the other assassins. 

"SHIT!" Damian cursed, tearing up at the smoke. The Batfam had all covered their airways, allowing them to take down the assassins. Ashe swooped under Damian's legs, grabbing his katana. Dick picked up Marinette, unwrapping the chains tying her together. 

"JASON!" 

Jason, now as Red Hood, decked out in his hero costume, leapt over the box, sliding over to Dick. 

"Take her, run." 

"Got it. NOVA!" 

The lilac haired vigilante nodded. She took out a grappling gun, attaching a zip line handle, and a zip line carrier. Jason ran over, Marinette in his arms. He placed her onto the carrier, strapping her in. He then grabbed the carrier, holding it closer to him, grabbing his own handle, taking a leap off the four-story mansion. 

"NO!" an assassin roared. Tim tackled Damian, pinning him down. Damian and him threw fists at each other, landing on punch on either of them. Meanwhile, on the zipline, Jason leaped off, gently removing Marinette. 

"Not so fast, Todd." 

Emerging from the shadows was a whole gang of armed assassins and ...

Talia Al fucking Ghul. 

"Ah, Talia, long time no see," Jason stood in front of Marinette, pulling out his twin pistols. 

"You look good for someone who's supposed to be _dead_ ." 

"Why thank you. I got the Lazarus Pit treatment. It's very nourishing, although the 'waters' smell like eggs and the neon green highlighter color isn't really cutting it," Jason spun around his pistols, pointing one at Talia. 

Talia snorted. "Be thankful. If it hadn't been for my father's pity, you still would be dead. Now then. We paid you a favor by reviving you. Now do me a favor. And hand over the girl." 

"Over my dead body." (I couldn't help it-) 

"Then we'll have to do this the hard way." 

Talia charged at him, fist raised. Jason was forced the drop his guns to block her incoming punch. Talia kicked his shin, clanging against the metal plate atop his boots. He pushed her away, grabbing one of his pistols. However, that was a kind of bitch move, as Talia was now in an open position to snatch up Marinette. 

"FUCKING SHIT BITCH!" Jason shouted. Talia had Marinette in her arms, taking a leap off the building. 

_'SHE GOT AWAY!'_

_**'THEN FOLLOW HER YOU DUMBASS!'** _

Jason mimicked Ashe's tone, leaping off after Talia. 

"Alright bitch, hand her over or else!" he sprinted next to Talia, smacking her away. Talia fell to floor, Marinette right beside her. 

"This is why you don't run in heels. Unless your Ashe. _Bitch_ ." Jason took Marinette _again_ , grappling to a taller building. Right before he could though, he was smashed through a window, landing in an empty office. 

Talia knelt next to him, repeatedly smashing into his helmet, denting it. 

"ARGH!" Jason grabbed a lock of her hair, pulling. Talia slammed into his armor plated chest, earning herself a decent bruise. She bared her teeth, taking out a knife. Jason rolled over in time, covering Marinette's body with his own right before the knife could take either of them out. More. Ish? 

"Listen here, lady. Marinette is with us, and you can't take her with your mangy cat claws," Jason barely dodged a punch coming from her. 

"Too bad. Agreste had already promised both her and her miraculous in exchange for access to the Lazarus Pits," Talia said, kicking Jason in the stomach. 

"GAWK!" Jason coughed. He staggered back, catching himself on a desk. 

"I see the strength enhancement of the Pits-" 

Jason snorted. "Sorry. Just say the full thing. Continue." 

Talia rolled her eyes. "I see the strength enhancement of the _LAZARUS_ Pits had been wearing off. You've grown weak." 

"Shit, did I miss a subscription on my monthly sewer water? How do I renew it?" 

Talia grabbed the collar of his aviator jacket, pulling him close. From the vents in his helmet he could smell her breath. 

_'Ohh~ peppermintttt'_

"You joke around about the waters too much. You must want another death wish. Just a quicker one. I'll make sure that there's less crowbars, more..." 

_SCHLICK._

Jason's eyes moved down to where a knife had impaled him.

"Knife."

He coughed, blood dripping out of his helmet. 

"Y-you want this back, or can I keep it?" 

Talia grew more and more angry each joke he made. She headbutted him, cracking the top layer of his helmet. 

"Nice forehead... b-bitch," he winced as another knife sunk into his stomach. Talia punched him, causing him to topple over. Jason yelled in pain as Talia sliced through his right arm. 

"There. Now you know not to mess with the League of A-"

"ASSES!" a voice cut in. 

"WHO?!" a boot plunged into Talia's cheek. Standing with one foot on top was Black Bat in all her glory. 

(t.b.c you all must hate me. why not get to the plot already? 'cause... idk. tomorrow's my birthday and today's my mom's so imma be taking off. KACHOWWWW!) 


	13. 13

"Bat!" Jason choked out. Black Bat turned to him, foot still on Talia's cheek. 

"What the fuck happened here?!" she asked, only to be plunged to the ground by Talia.   
  
"YOU ALL!" she snarled. Her 'model' composure was now ruined due to all the new cuts and bruises she received. Her silky brown hair was now a tangled mess, with dust and blood coating the ends. Mascara and eyeshadow were smudged across her eye, adding a _~dramatic!~_ effect to her forming swollen eye. A set of fake eyelashes were falling off her real lashes. Red lipstick was mixed into blood. 

Black Bat cringed under her mask. 

"Holy shit. You look like the Joker had a kid with an Amazonian warrior." 

Talia ignored the comment, lunging towards Marinette. Black Bat caught her foot, causing her to flop forward. Cass climbed on top of her, trying to hold her down. Talia reeled back, smacking the Cain back onto the ground. 

"You're just like your mother... weak!" she smirked, holding down Cassandra's arms. 

"Based on what **EVERYONE** else says, and from what **I** know, she was the **ONLY** person to take you down!" Cass headbutted Talia. The Al Ghul flinched; something you should never do. Cass flipped over, cuffing her hands with her own. 

"JASON!" she panted. "GET MARINETTE AND RUN! RU-" 

Talia thrashed around, breaking out of Cass' grip. A knife sliced through Cass' arm, implanting into the carpet, still in her arm. Tears began to form in her eyes. She attempted to reach over to remove it, only for her free hand to be impaled by...

_~Another knife!~_

"AGH!" she cried out in pain. She'd gone through more pain this before, but it doesn't mean that a simple stab _didn't_ hurt. Like duh, bitch. 

Talia got to Marinette, kneeling down to pick her up. 

"NO!" Jason yelled. Blood gushed out even more as he tried to get up. Talia's foot kicked him back.   
  
"Fucking... hell!" a shuriken implanted into his neck. 

"I thought you learned the first time... to not mess with the League of Assassins."  
  


And with that, she was gone. 

With Marinette. 

~

 _"...la police a reçu des rapports d'un petit bureau de..."_ the TV played in the background as Ashe continued to stitch up the smaller knife wounds on Jason's scar covered chest. The Wayne vacation home had been quieter than it had even been the past week. The Batkids were all decked out in thin tank tops and shorts, too pissed and too bummed to do any of the fun things they had in store. 

Forget jumping into the clear glassed swimming pool or road-tripping to Normandy to see the World War 2 monuments. 

Failing an objective was something that always made them all fogged and upset. 

They let the League capture Marinette _and_ take Emilie away.

_"des taches de sang ont été trouvées, à côté..."_

Not to mention, their dad had a biological son that they hadn't even known about. 

Yet he did.

But didn't tell them. 

Bitch move, **DAD**. 

In the background, Lana Del Rey's 'Video Games' played faintly from Ashe's Bluetooth speaker. 

(I can't help it, I fucking love Lana Del Rey)

"There. It's done," Ashe placed a band-aid on it, placing the sutures and cotton balls aside. She got up, walking into the kitchen to wash her hands. Jason slowly got up, pulling down his red tank top. 

"You guys want something to drink?" Ashe deadpanned from the kitchen. 

"Tea sounds good." 

"Okay."

Ashe filled the kettle with water, letting it boil. Digging around in the pantry, she eventually found a box of lemon tea. She shrugged, setting it down next to the hissing kettle. 

(Todoroki is screaming-)

Bruce walked in, looking over at what his youngest daughter was doing. 

"Are you making tea?" 

"What does it look like," she sarcastically sneered. Bruce sighed. He knew quite well that his kids were beyond pissed with him for not telling them about his biological son. Yes, he had known about him, he just couldn't see him. (Wink for future chapters~) 

"Are you making another assassin baby?" 

Bruce stopped mid-thought. 

"ExCUSE me?" 

"You heard me. Are you planning on making another assassin baby? Go ahead. We can all just leave the house while you and the _enemy_ fuck like rabbits. Who knows? Maybe we'll end up with multiple little Bruce's running around the manor!" Ashe slammed a spoon onto the counter.

"Ashe, what's going on?" Dick walked in, alerted by the banging of the drawers slamming close. Bruce sighed. 

"Why don't you ask him? Huh? He's the one over here with a secret son that he never fucking told us about, what the _HELL_ do you think is going on, Richie?!"

"Okay, okay, seriously. Why are you mad-" 

"I'm MAD, because he never told us about him! Not to mention, the connections he had with the League of FUCKING Assassins, the son he KNEW about just never told US about, the whole mission failure, letting Marinette get captured-"

"What does that have to do with this?" Bruce asked, stress and frustration levels rising. 

"What does- YOU KNOW DAMN WELL WHAT IT HAS TO DO!" she yelled, gripping her hair. If it hadn't been for her inability to cry, she might've been doing that at the moment. 

Steph, Cass, Jason, Tim, and Duke all walked in, worried about the whole situation. Ashe wasn't one to lose her shit that easily, so this wasn't something they were entirely used to. 

"What, me having a son that I never intended to have because she _raped_ me-"

"YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO'S BEEN RAPED, OKAY?! I'VE BEEN RAPED, JASON'S BEEN- WE ALL HAVE BEEN! YOU'RE NOT SPECIAL! THAT _SON_ NEARLY MURDERED TIM, TOOK PART IN CAPTURING MARINETTE, BLEW UP PART OF THE ROOFTOP, AND-"

A knock silenced Ashe's shouts. 

(t.b.c) 

Not exactly sure why I decided to write this, I just wanted more drama because-

_~I'm a tea-loving sis who's all for this ~*dramatic*~ bullshit I write~_


	14. 14

"Mm..." Marinette's bluebell eyes slowly fluttered open, hazy and nauseous. 

Where was she?

All she could remember before blacking out was going backstage to meet the models before something hit her... and Chat was there...

Maybe a stage light or a prop fell onto her. 

"You're finally awake." 

Her eyes widened at the voice. It sounded so much like..

"YOU!" she hissed, shuffling against the cold wood floor. The room she was in dimly lit, decorated with weapons and mute colors. A king sized bed was lined with blankets and pillows. Beside that, another bed. Marinette gasped. He wasn't going to... please, no.

"Yes, me." the guy from the gala, the handsome one, knelt in front of her, shirtless with only his tight leggings on. On one arm, a tattoo sleeve with Japanese demons, or _oni_ , and blooming lilypad flowers. It was an odd sort of tattoo sleeve, but on him, _god_ , it suited him so well. 

On his toned chest, right above his heart, was a demon head with an 'R' in between its horns. 

"W-where am I?! What are you-"

"Hush. It's better for you. You sound like a dying fish," Marinette sputtered, offended. A _dying fish?!_ He must have a death wish. 

"ExCUSE me?!" Marinette choked out. After finally being brought back to reality, she did have to admit, she sounded like a sputtering fish out of water. The mysterious guy who kidnapped 'tted' from his nightstand, where he was stitching up a wound on his arm. Marinette hadn't noticed it before. 

"So maybe you were right about the fish part... but why did you bring me here? Why the hell am I tied up like some... some..." Marinette growled. "Some sort of wild animal!"

"I would never do that to an animal. After all, they actually have vital roles in this world." Marinette glared, baring her teeth. 

"And _humans DON'T?!_ " 

The man shrugged. "Most. All of them are incredibly annoying though. Kind of like you, but..." he turned, emerald eyes the only visible thing in the shadows of his bedroom. She seethed through her teeth, using her rope-free legs to scoot her away. 

"Why are you moving away? I'm not planning on doing anything to you. You can stop looking at me like I'm some middle-aged pedophile getting ready to violate you. I'm not interested in women." 

**(Note: Damian is bisexual in this fic - I wanted him to play hard to get with Marinette before... yeah. Just a note. He's only really attracted to men at first, then he starts being attracted to both guys and females when... yeah.)**

"I... okay, but why am I here? Why am I tied up, why am I _here?_ " 

"Isn't it obvious?" he applied some sort of lotion over his tattooed arm. "You hold the ladybug miraculous. My grandfather has plans for what to do with both you and the miraculous powers. After all, you were part of Agreste's deal. Gabriel really wanted his wife revived."

"AGRESTE'S DEAL-" her eyes widened. _Agreste's deal._ That's why she saw Emilie's case. That's why... no. "W-wait..." that's why her class was invited to the gala. Not because of the partnership; it was so they could take her. And Chat... is Adrien... who's Gabriel's son. 

Gabriel made a deal with a gang of assassins... who were looking for a miraculous. Adrien possesses a miraculous... and wouldn't necessarily turn evil unless...

 _"Hawkmoth is..."_ tears brimmed in her eyes. 

"I see you found out." Marinette gasped. Tears slipped out of her eyes. Is that why... Hawkmoth had been Gabriel the whole time. Gabriel was Hawkmoth. Hawkmoth was Gabriel. Adrien was the son of Hawkmoth...

"no...no, no, NO!" she screamed, squirming in her rope hold. Back at his nightstand, Damian sighed. Marinette's screams became louder. He frowned, slamming his bottle of ointment onto his stand. He exhaled, walking over to Marinette. 

"HELP! HELP ME! CHLOE! KAGAMI! NINO! ALIX! KIM! ANYONE PLEASE!" she cried. 

"Normally I like to hear the screams of agony from people, but really. All that screaming is useless," he told the sobbing Marinette. She only cried harder, yelling louder. It really sounded as if they were doing the 'forbidden™' and it annoyed Damian even more. He grabbed a piece of cloth from his set of armor laying on his bed, pressing it over Marinette's mouth. 

"Shut. It. If you stop crying, I _might_ explain the situation to you." 

Marinette's eyes crinkled. She slowly nodded. Damian huffed, removing the piece of fabric. He then flipped her over, undoing the ropes that tied her together. She immediately recoiled, swinging a fist at Damian. 

He caught it easily, clamping his palm over it. "Really, fighting isn't going to get you out of this. Plus, you're malnourished and sweaty. I wouldn't want to faint again. Who knows? You might end up in another country. Speaking of which..." 

"Welcome... to Infinity Island." 

-

_Knock, knock._

Ashe paused, turning towards the door. She bit her lip, sighing heavily. She glared at Bruce, doing her best to calm herself as she walked to the door. 

"Look, I know you probably want pictures or whatever, but we're-" 

"WHERE IS SHE?!" hands grabbed the front of Ashe's tank top, pulling her closer. Outside, a group of about six or seven stood, angry or worried looking. Ashe ripped the hand off her shirt. 

"What are you- Chloe?" her eyebrow arched at the sight of the mayor's daughter. Chloe was one of Marinette's friends...

"Cut the _shit_. We know you took Marinette, and we won't-" 

"Wait, wait, wait. What are you going off about?" Duke and the others appeared at the door, all confused at the sudden intrusion. 

"What am I going off- you _took_ Marinette! I know you did! We know you did!" Chloe shouted, holding up her phone. Sure enough, fingerprints and blood records popped up on the screen. The Batfam all looked at one another. 

"Those aren't ours..." Jason looked closer at the fingerprints. 

"How do you know that? I know who you are, Jason Todd. Or should I say," Chloe swiped onto her phone. " _RED HOOD."_ on her phone, a security camera captured Jason's unmasked face. He still had his domino mask on underneath it, but the hair...

"That could be anyone. Red Hood could just be some old military veteran with grey hairs." 

Chloe raised an eyebrow. "Can you explain how the blood samples match up with yours? And your DNA?" 

Jason's eyes widened. All eyes went to him. 

"And you," Chloe glared at Cass. "Pieces of fabric and blood. All show signs of belonging to you, _Black Bat_." 

(t.b.c) 


	15. 15

Bruce stared at both of them, expression grim. For a second, Chloe looked guilty at the way they cowered to the side, rubbing new stitch scars. She kept her 'bad cop' expression on still, slipping her phone back into her jean pocket.

"Let's talk," Chloe exhaled, bringing back her stern cool. 

"Yes," Bruce agreed. "I think we should, Queen Bee. And others," his eyes traveled to the other miraculous wielders behind her. "This way." 

Chloe and the others followed behind Bruce, removing their shoes. Sitting on the couch, Ashe walked in, holding a tray of tea she was in the middle of making. Handing each of them one, she slumped farthest away from Bruce, slurping loudly from her cup.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng is your friend, correct?" 

They all nodded. "And she's Ladybug."

More nodding. Bruce sighed, "We have been in Paris investigating for the past... week or so. That is one reason for the charities. Hawkmoth has some... undercover agents that have been targeting Marinette for a while now. The charities served as a distraction for us to sneak into security systems and track their movements."

"Wait... but why? I understand it's because of Marinette's status in hero society and her miraculous, but... why does- why her? I'd rather they come after one of us. Marinette is... I'm not calling her weak... I'm calling her... not as protected as the rest of us," Chloe concluded, setting down her empty teacup. 

"Marinette was part of a deal between Hawkmoth to Ra's Al Ghul." 

"Huh?" the Batfam members present in the room tensed, taking slower sips from their tea. Bruce frowned. "Hawkmoth is someone you all know. I'm sure you are aware of 'Emilie Agreste's sudden comatosed state,' headlines?"

Chloe's face faltered at the mention of Adrien's mother. "Correct. She was apparently sickly and had to be put into a coma to prevent her from... dying."

"Correct again. Do you know the miraculous? As in the story behind them?"

The miraculous wielders remained silent. Bruce once again spoke, "This is classified information. Do you swear on your LIFE, that this information will be carried to the grave?" he specifically looked at Chloe, having seen her old Queen Bee posts from the past. Having matured over the years, she nodded, blue eyes cold and serious.

-

"Wonder Woman's mother was... a Ladybug?" Bruce nodded in confirmation. 

"That's... a lot to take in. The powers, the story. Queen Hippolyta personally explained this to you?" Bruce nodded once more. 

"Marinette as someone's betrothed..." Nino shivered. "I never thought of Marinette as someone to just get tossed around like that. She's not meant to be anyone's wife! Unless she wants to! How the hell did this... this Hawkmoth - Gabriel dude even... he's not even her parent or guardian! He just gave her away to revive his..." he took a deep breath out. 

"Adrien may be my best- might have been my best friend, and I am so SORRY for saying this, but I doubt that Mrs. Agreste would ever be able to... to get well. Rude, yes, but..." 

Even Chloe nodded at that. "Gabriel Agreste is dead set on getting his wife back... even if he has to kidnap, kill, or even sell a whole other human being for it."

"THAT," Ashe uncrossed her legs, walking over to Chloe. "Being said. We have a plan for how we are getting her back. We just need to know that you're up for it. And that we can trust you."

**Short chapter, apologies. I just wanted to get something out, so here it is! Actually getting to the plot, so don't worry! Also, I have some ideas for fanfictions... I'm going to start taking commissions/ideas from people! If you have any suggestions for a ship for me to write about, please comment it, I'll see what I can conjure up.**

**Also - I'm in the midst of writing a Harry Potter fanfiction (Drarry) - would any Potterheads mind reading it? And would you like me to post it? Let me know.**

**That... is all. I'll see you guys... next week or so for the fifteenth chapter! Hoped you liked it!**

**Jessica the author. How original.**


	16. 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Wow, did I actually just update something in like... *counts fingers and toes* uh... never mind. But did I actually just update something? Yes, yes I did. Writer's block, F in math, school stress and whatever. But I'm back! To update! Here's this... chapter! Sorry, sorry, sorry! Here you go! Also, I'm in the middle of writing a Lesbian!Daminette story! I know I already said I'm done with the MLB fandom and Daminette, but I couldn't help myself. It should be out later. In the meantime, enjoy this chapter! Jessica the author. How original.)

_"THAT," Ashe uncrossed her legs, walking over to Chloe. "Being said. We have a plan for how we are going to get her back. We just need to know if you're up for it. And that we can trust you."_

"What's the plan?" Chloe held her hand out. Ashe reluctantly took it, signaling towards Bruce. He gave her a nod, another signal to continue with the plan. Ashe cleared her throat, running her fingers along the coffee table. Instantly, a digital board hologram flickered to life, showing stats and files. 

Max excitedly watched Ashe tap the hologram screen. 

"Pops. You're up," she said, sitting back up. Bruce sat up, taking her spot. 

"As for the plan..." Bruce tapped a button. Automatically, all the windows around the vacation penthouse were all covered by a thick layer of metal 'curtain.' "Computer. Check the security cameras." 

_'Of course, Bruce. ...no sights of suspicious behaviour around V-PARISEHOME.'_

Max had to cover his mouth with his hands to hide his girlish squeals of fascination. Even in the current situation, he couldn't help but get excited over all the advanced technologies and programming happening all around him. With all the high-tech glitz and gadgets, it was like he was in his own personal heaven. 

"Marinette is being held captive by the League of Assassins. Also known as the League of Shadows. Ran and created by Ra's Al Ghul. The one who took Marinette was... my own son. Damian Al Ghul." 

Angered gasps from the miraculous wielders. Ashe seemed to sink deeper into the couch. The thought of having another sibling she- _they,_ the whole of the Batfam didn't know about was still fresh in her countless mind. From the other side, Alix, despite being mad herself, held down Chloe, who looked ready to lash out at Bruce, or rather, any Wayne present in the room.

"Before you trash the place, mind you, I have only learned of Damian's existence last night. It was never something... that came to mind. The night he was... _ahem,_ conceived, I was drugged and assaulted by his mother. Talia. Because of my..." Bruce paused, as if trying to find the right words to say. "PRIOR relationship with his mother, I'm most likely wanted dead by the Al Ghul's."

"What does that have to do with Marinette? Really, what does your shitty relationship have to do with anything? We came for Marinette, not for your lame Hollywood sob story about a son you never knew about," Chloe sarcastically snarked. Suddenly, a _zip_ passed by her cheek. A batarang flew past Chloe, cutting off a lock of her hair, embedding itself into the wall. 

"Watch it, Bourgeois. He's not finished," Ashe glared, twirling a batarang around her fingers. 

Chloe rolled her eyes, exhaling. "Apologies, Bruce. I'm just... worried."

"That's alright. Ashe, refrain from attacking our guests."

This time, it was Ashe's turn to roll her eyes. "Of course. Sorry."

"What that has to do with Marinette... Damian is the heir of the League. He's going to need a wife in order to produce the next heir. I believe that they selected Marinette as his betrothed. However, that theory may or may not be true. I'm sure you are all aware of what I've told you about Gabriel and Emilie Agreste. Ra's Al Ghul possesses these pools - specifically called: the Lazarus Pits."

Jason cleared his throat. "If I could continue?" 

Bruce nodded. "I have a more... clearer description of the Lazarus Pits. I'm sure you were all informed of my death a couple years back?"

Nods. Jason's death had made worldwide news. The cause being kidnapped by the Joker, assaulted and finally beaten to death with a crowbar. Afterwards, he died on the way to the hospital. The explosion and Robin identity had been hidden upon Batman's request. 

And just a few years ago, Jason miraculously reappeared, claiming to have been revived with a defibrillator and tons of CPR. He had then ran away from the hospital while recovering, living back on the streets, like when he was a child. 

"...the whole running away, defibrillator part was a lie. I was actually... uh, PG-13 warning or whatever, dug up from my grave by the League of Assassins and revived by the Lazarus Pits. And before you ask what they are, let me tell you some basic backstory. Ra's found them while searching for a cure for a dying prince some... long time ago."

"That makes me a century older than him," Ashe included. "Questions later."

"The prince, once revived, went mad and murdered Ra's wife. Part of the reason why he formed the League of Assassins in the first place. Now to the actual Lazarus Pits lesson. They are natural pools filled with this... restorative chemical."

"And that's how you were..." Max appalled. 

"Exactly. There's multiple located in the world. One closer to home, near Gotham. Destroyed. There are still some in Ra's Switzerland headquarters. Now, the most powerful one, resides among Infinity Island, where the lava from the surrounding volcanoes increase the usual power. That's where we suppose Emilie and Marinette are located."

"So, we just, invade, attack and get her back?"

"It's going to take a lot more than that. The League of Assassins are a group of highly skilled killers, taking part in multiple assassinations and terrorist attacks around the world. That means that even with your current skills, it's going to take a lot more than a magical weapon to take them down. They have every single base on heavy guard."

"Fine." Chloe smirked. "Tell us what we need to do."

**(Ah, I FINALLY UPDATED SOMETHING! I'm in the midst of writing a Lesbian!Daminette story right now. It's kind of like an Aladdin!AU, but with a twist and I think you guys will really like it! I know I said I was done with the MLB fandom, but I honestly couldn't help myself to write at least _one_ more fic before focusing on a different fandom (most likely BNHA or DC.) I am planning on writing a Marvel x DC crossover, with Peter Parker x Damian Wayne as the main pairing. All in all, apologies for the incredibly slow updates! Thanksgiving was a couple days ago, so uh... there was that. I hope everyone is doing well during these harsh times! Jessica the author. I normally use that once, but fuck it. How original. Thanks for everything!)**


	17. 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I know a lot of people have kept asking me when I was going to be updating, so as an apology gift for the long hiatus, I bring another chapter! This chapter mainly focuses on Marinette and Damian, so here's some more interaction between the two. Hope you enjoy! Jessica the author. How original.)

Marinette huffed. Damian had been 'kind' enough to let her arms free, but still kept her legs tied together in case she decided to run. Which she would have - had it not been for Damian sitting directly next to it, sharpening a katana. She figured it was to make him seem intimidating - or even more threatening. 

Which kind of worked. The death glare, the insanely handsome but stern face of his? Oh yeah. 

"So... mind telling me why the _fuck_ I'm here again?!" Marinette growled. 

Damian rolled his eyes to the ceiling. "Was the explanation earlier, NOT, clear enough for you?"

"Explanation?! EXPLANATION?! All I got from you was some nasty sneers and sarcastic remarks! You didn't give me shit!" Marinette exploded, raising her hands aggressively. Damian pursed his lips, raising his eyebrows in an annoyed manner.

"Fine. Let's hope you pay attention this time, because I'm _not_ repeating this. Starting off with... you are the miraculous guardian, aren't you? Marinette Dupain-Cheng? Ladybug?"

"So what if I am?" 

"Perfect. We can locate the other miraculous' to complete Grandfather's plan." 

Before Marinette could speak, Damian continued: 

"You are... here to be my betrothed. Gabriel Agreste had chosen to hand you over, the ladybug miraculous wielder, to be granted access to the Lazarus Pits, which are able to revive the dead, or those close to death. What I am aware of, is that Emilie Agreste is in a comatosed tate; incredibly ill, is she not?"

Marinette bit her lip. Despite all her childish stalking of Adrien (back when she was a boy-crazy freshmen), she realized that she barely knew about Adrien's mother. Probably because she was more into getting Adrien to finally like her and not Kagami. All in all, Marinette had minimal knowledge about Emilie. All she knew was that she was Gabriel's wife, Adrien's mother, twin sister of Amelie Graham de Vanily, and an actress.

"So there's that. On the day that we... wed..." Damian took the time to snark in disgust. "Emilie will be revived by the Lazarus Pits and taken back to Gabriel. As for the miraculous... well, Grandfather is hoping on taking over the world with the combined power of the... what was it... ladybug and cat miraculous. Outrageous, I think, but... who am I to defy orders?"

"You- you... you delirious little PRICK! Don't you know- scratch that. I'm just exposing even more secrets about the miraculouses. I'm not gonna be some... lanky housewife for you! Okay?! I'm not going to marry you, nor even ACKNOWLEDGE you! Give me back Tikki and the _miraculous_ unless you want to feel my wrath!"

Damian gave her a look of boredom. He propped his head on a fist, unimpressed.

"Oh no, I have the sudden feeling that I'm going to assassinated in my sleep by a shrimpy high school senior in a tacky prom dress because I'm being forced to marry a girl I just met despite my personal sexual orientation because my grandfather and mother are complete bastards!" 

Marinette bit her lip. _Oh. That's right._ She remembered Damian's prefered gender. _Men._

And he called his family bastards... Marinette shook away that detail. He was still rude as hell.

"Is that a _decent_ enough explanation for you?" 

"It's better," Marinette copied Chloe, pointing her nose up while crossing her arms. 

"You're not doing anything with your little 'charade' game. Stop trying." 

Damian walked over, untying the ropes around Marinette's ankles. 

"Feel free to explore the bedroom. I'll be..." on his tanned cheeks, Marinette could have sworn that she saw a faint rouge form. "Elsewhere. Oh, and... don't bother trying to escape. From the balcony, it's a thirty story drop. And if you try to travel through the building with me, well... consider yourself sashimi. Have fun." 

And with that, Damian had left. 

Marinette quickly scrambled up, digging through drawers and cabinets. Clothes, weapons, clothes, lots of clothes - how much clothes does Damian have? A whole drawer was dedicated to shuriken. Another, kunai. Katanas and broadswords lined the walls. On the wall above Damian's bed, a large Chinese - Japanese tapestry hung. In the middle, something similar to the demon head on Damian's torso tattoo sat in the middle of the threaded picture.

If Hollywood needed a stereotypical bedroom for a ninja, this would probably be the inspiration.

Marinette opened the doors to the balcony, running to the railing. Sure enough, the ground seemed to be several stories down. She felt a shiver run up her spine. A little nauseous, too. That would've been a long way down, even if she was Ladybug. 

None of the buildings she had ever stood or perched on were as tall as this one. 

She slowly backed up, closing the doors behind her. 

Marinette dashed to a drawer, grabbing a roped set of shuriken and a kunai. She had conjured up a plan while staring down the building, watching the many ninja-clad assassins train in sync. On her own, without a miraculous, she was fairly weak when it came to fighting.

That's why she had to do whatever she could to survive.

She would wait for Damian to return, and that's when she would attack.

As dumb as it was, all Marinette wanted was to get off this horrid island, out of this room, out of whatever arranged marriage she was put into without any consent by her former comrade's heartless father. 

**(Shorter, sorry! Just wanted to write another chapter for you guys because of my endless hiatus.)**


	18. 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Another chapter? Holy hell. I'm pissed, I'm in pain - periods can fucking suck their own... whatever. I literally almost fainted twice today because the cramp pain was unbearable. Have this chapter because I have enough inspiration to write today. Don't get used to this treatment - just telling you now. All my... menstrual pain aside, sorry if that wasn't what you wanted to hear about, but who cares. Periods are part of life, despite gender. Gotta here it or face it as some time. I hope this is something you can enjoy while I just... attend my Zoom classes. Whatever. Jessica the author. How original

By now, it had been nearly three hours and Damian hadn't returned. At this point, Marinette was getting frantic. Every noise from outside the door triggered Marinette to return to her hiding spot behind the door, kunai ready to stab, slash, impale or cut. 

She had ditched her beautiful dress to change into a pair of 'ninja' attire she had dug out of Damian's drawers. With a little bit of adjustments, she was able to make the baggy leggings and the shirt to fit a bit better on her 'stick' build. As for armor, she found a fancy set of armor that was incredibly heavy for her pick up and even wear.

So, no armor. If Damian came back armed and ready to attack, Marinette's soft stomach may be turned into spaghetti if not careful. That's why she would wait for Damian to close and lock the door before she could eliminate him. Still, there was the lingering thought in the back of her mind:

_'What if I actually kill him? And the police, or rather, other people found out? Would I still be sent to jail? This was all just for self-defense purposes! Escaping my captor and running away. I'm still technically a minor, so....'_

Suddenly, louder footsteps heard from the hall. Marinette instantly dashed to her hiding spot. Ignoring her trembling limbs, she prepared to strike.

"...لا أريد أن أفعل هذا يا حبيبي ... (I don't want to have to do this, my Beloved...)" 

_'That was Damian's voice... he must be with his lover...'_

_"_ أنا أعرف حبي. لكن هذا ما يريده را ، أليس كذلك. جدك يطلب المعجزه ... والوريث القادم _,"_ a deeper voice said. More mumbling. Whatever they were talking about, Marinette just grew more and more curious. 

(I know, my Love. But it's what Ra's wants, isn't it. Your grandfather requires the miraculous... and the next heir.)

"Tt. من المرجح أن يتم حل عصبة القتلة بحلول الوقت الذي سيحتاج فيه إلى الوريث التالي بعدي. أنا لا أفهم لماذا أحتاج إلى ضعيف كزوجة. سأكون أسعد معك ... (The League of Assassins will most likely be disbanded by the time he requires the next heir after me. I don't understand why I need a skimpy weakling as a wife. I would be happier with you...)" Damian's tone slightly faltered. 

_"_ هذا لا يعني أنك بحاجة إلى إنجاب طفل معها- (That doesn't mean that you need to have a child with her-) _"_

 _"_ أتعلم؟ انسى ذلك. قد تسمع. أراك لاحقًا الليلة ، حبيبي. (You know, what? Forget it. She might hear. I'll see you later tonight, my Beloved.)" 

_"_ لاحقًا ، داميان..." silence followed. Then Damian appeared, huffing. He locked the door behind him. 

_'NOW!'_ Marinette charged, kunai raised. 

Damian continued to remove his heavy armor. There! An open spot on his neck! Marinette just barely touched him before he grabbed her wrist and _threw_ her against the door. Marinette slammed against it, feeling all the wind knocked out of her. 

"Did you honestly think you're able to kill me," he bent down, grabbing the forgotten kunai. "With a simple kunai? It's going to take a lot more than that. One, you are _inexperienced_. Two, you barely have a single muscle on you. All skin and bone. More bone though. Three, you shouldn't keep trying. Mind you, you're attempting to assassinate the next head of the League of Assassins. You wouldn't want to make any enemies... _more,_ I mean?" 

Marinette bared her teeth, getting up to charge again.

Damian simply landed a basic punch to her stomach, causing her to back away.

"I'm being serious. Without that miraculous, you are _nothing_."

Marinette paused. _'Without that miraculous, you are nothing.'_

Damian was positive he had her rethinking everything based on how she opened her mouth to argue, only to close it abruptly. 

"You see? Weak and powerless. Get lost."

"'fraid I can't do that. I don't have anywhere else to go." 

"Exactly. Follow me," he walked over to the door, holding it open like a gentlemen.

"I can open the door myself."

"It's called 'manners.' I wasn't raised an asshole."

"Sure seems like it."

"What can I say? It's in my blood."

Marinette took the time to study Damian as they walked through the drab hallways. Neatly trimmed hair that was sort of peaked at the top. Not a single facial hair. Surprisingly long eyelashes. Through the mesh material of his shirt he wore under his ridiculously detailed armor, she could see the tattoo sleeves from earlier. 

"So where am I staying?" she asked.

"Who knows. Perhaps... the roof?" 

Marinette glared at him. Damian just snorted.

"You'll have your own personal quarters. King sized bed, quartz-enlined bathroom... training room. I figure, if you _are_ trying to kill me, you might as well train up before you do. I don't want my name to go down in history as the one killed by a literal twig." 

Marinette's ears showed her embarrassment and anger. 

"Yeah, I'm flat chested and literal bones. Big deal."

"Hn. Fair enough. You are, now, free to roam the island. Leaving however," Damian clicked his tongue. "Would be fairly impossible without a plane." 

Marinette simply sniffed.

Once the two had arrived, Damian opened the door. Marinette had to admit, this was better than any hotel or bedroom she's ever stayed in. Kagami, Adrien's (for platonic sleepovers with all their friends), even Chloe's. 

"Feel free to decorate. Change the paint or whatever," Damian opened the hallway closet to reveal multiple cans of paint. "These are your living quarters for... until."

The grim expression on his face spoke for him. 

_Until they are forced to marry._

**(Done!~ Apologies if the Arabic translations are incorrect; I just used Google Translate.)**


	19. 19

Marinette flopped onto her new bed, frantically trying to suffocate herself with a fancy throw pillow. Damian leant against her tall dresser, blinking in confusion. She let out an unholy scream into the sheets, ripping off the tucked in blankets and smacking all the pillows against the bedside chair. Next thing to come down was the century old tapestry that she tore down and stomped all over. 

"You know, if I were in your position, I would stop, clean up and then potentially murder a high-class ranking diplomat from Canada before returning for a nap."

Marinette stopped mid-tantrum to stare at Damian, awestruck.

"I'm kidding. That was my mother. He ought to get kicked out of office anyway, don't give me that look," Damian rolled his eyes, flicking a lint particle off his mesh sleeves. 

"Great. I'm in the presence of a mass murderer's rude ass murderer son and a ton of ninjas. What a wonderful dream. Do pinch me, I wish to wake up now," Marinette grumbled.

"We're not 'murderers.' We're _assassins."_

"Big deal. You guys are more like a whole bunch of asses."

"Ouch, ooh, that hurts," Damian pretended to be upset. 

Marinette sat up, picking up the tapestry, scanning over it.

It looked like one of the old murals her grandmother had behind her own bakery in China. Herons surrounded ponds lined with tall reeds, all staring into the fading navy sky, where a dragon of gold, topaz orange, red and vibrant emerald green spiralled around. Further into the background, small rice farmers plowed away in their rice paddies, gathering rice.

In another side of the wall, another, _larger_ tapestry hung. 

Marinette checked the stomped tapestry for any fixable damage before hanging it back up, walking to the other. Her azure eyes twinkled in befuzzlement and amazement. Two fingers ran down the silken threads.

Depictions of kwamis, _kwamis,_ interacting with humans. 

Over to the side, a girl in twin buns and something like a short thigh length hanfu a bright spotted red and a baggy pair of cement grey pants and traditional tai chi shoes wore a decorative mask, 'talking' to another miraculous wielder - the cat miraculous holder, dressed in a male hanfu, tight brown pants with green accents and the same tai chi shoes. Cat ears. A long braid, like Marinette's own, during her Lady Noir transformation fell along his back. 

"This... shows the original miraculous wielders... where did you find this?!" 

"My grandfather likes to travel... dominate... I believe he bought that from a mage in China during the late 1400's."

Marinette's eyes nearly shot out of her eye sockets. 

"1400's?" 

"Lazarus Pits. To put it, he's basically immortal." 

"You're joking, right?! He can't- that's impossible!"

"And having the ability to transform into an outdated superhero with the powers of a floating, talking animal is impossible. Please. There's superheroes with the power to shoot laser out of their eyes, fly, survive and fly around in Space, destroy an overpopulated city within a day, covering everything in a power-numbing radioactive toxin... let's see... there's also half-demon, half-human peoples that exist..."

"Okay, so it is possible. But... how? Is he like a god, or like... a deity... demigod? What is he?"

"He's my grandfather."

"That's- are you going to ever tell me anything?"

Damian looked her up and down. "No."

"Are you kidding? I'm your be-" Marinette stopped. The word _betrothed_ was a foreign 'taste' on her tongue. She didn't like it. "I'm your... soon to be, uh, partner for life! I think I ought to know these things since we're going to have to spend the rest of our lives together!"

"Don't remind me," Damian grumbled. "Fine. Since you're my 'partner for life.'"

"My grandfather is the leader and founder of the League of Assassins, formed many centuries ago, back when he was still... who knows what age. A sickly, _dying_ prince was in need of a cure, in which my grandfather found the Lazarus Pits, which can cure any sickness and bring back the dead... if they aren't too far gone, that is."

"And...?" Marinette had to admit, this would've made a decent action movie. 

"The waters of the Lazarus Pits can make one go insane... in the end, the prince was cured, but went insane, murdering my grandfather's first wife. Because of that, Ra's Al Ghul plotted revenge, forming the League of Assassins you see here... today."

"All that... because he lost his wife? Like, I understand that he would be upset, but... starting a whole legion of hired hitmen and..."

"Don't ask me. I sometimes don't even understand how his mind works."

"I'm getting the psychos just keep getting younger...?" 

Damian almost smiled. Shocker. "Perhaps. Enjoy."

"Yeah..." Marinette pursed her lips, leaning back against the wall. 

This was it. This was where she was stuck for the rest of her pathetic life. 

Damian took one last glance at her, before leaving.

"Don't act so bummed. This place is actually quite nice... "

Marinette sunk to the floor, taking the miraculous tapestry with her. 

She rubbed the ancient threads of the silken 'picture,' right over the head of the ladybug wielder.

Another easy-to-identify miraculous wielder was the rabbit miraculous wielder, dressed in a tight skin suit of pale blue and white, almost like Alix's current costume. An obi was wrapped around their waist, holding a _staff_ in place. The weapons must have changed in time... since the staff was normally a weapon used by Chat or King Monkey. 

_Alix..._ another brush against the threads. 

Lounging in a tree, coincidentally, was the bee miraculous wielder, dipping a finger into a beehive dripping honey. He wore his long raven hair in a black and yellow streaked ribbon, lamellae armor with a golden sheen and a conical rice field hat. A thin tulle cape depicted wings, supposedly blowing in the breeze. 

_Chloe..._ Marinette especially liked the armor detail, something all their modern costumes lacked. Maybe it was because of her experience trying to put on Damian's armor... or just the armor in general. Maybe because of the kidnapping or the _fucking_ swords everywhere.

The turtle miraculous wielder dressed in a baggy merchant suit sat near a pond, right next to the dragon miraculous wielder, dressed in loose robes. Kagami's miraculous sword sat on their lap, a deeper crimson, with a golden detail around the handle, which was still black.

Looking at the tapestry, it brought sympathy to Marinette... seeing old depictions of all the old miraculous wielders... the clothing, the attitude, based on how the little people sat or stood around, either alone or with others. The monkey miraculous wielder seemed to be talking to the goat, rooster, pig, dog, ox, fox and horse miraculous wielders.

The snake miraculous wielder kept to themselves, sitting under the tree where the bee miraculous wielder sat in. 

Perhaps they were having a conversation. 

Maybe they were both close to falling asleep. 

Just looking at it gave her ideas of what could possibly be happening.

The ladybug wielder scolding the poor cat wielder for getting into mischief.

The monkey wielder was talking about how they managed to climb a tree and see the entire village from above, going into incredible detail about all the lights and sounds he could hear.

Marinette smiled - for the first time in... however long she was here.

All she knew was that she was going to be here for a long time. 

(t.b.c) 


	20. 20

_"Fine." Chloe smirked. "Tell us what we need to do."_

"Right. First things first... I think there's some things... advancements we can make to your suits. I understand that they are... have some sort of magical property?"

"As far as we know, they're just spandex suits," Chloe answered. 

"I think that's something we can fix. Spandex while facing the League of Assassins isn't something that you should _never_ do. You can never walk out of the fight without some sort of tear or cut or scar. If you get stabbed in spandex, there's nothing stopping or preventing any other weapon from literally splitting you into two," Jason mimicked a body being sliced.

Shivers were shared between the miraculous wielders. 

"That being said, I suppose we design you guys some new suits," Tim took over Bruce's spot at the smart table, switching to what looked like a virtual, 3D design program. Max, as always, was first to the table. Tim pressed a few buttons. Something like a scanner took a full body scan of Max's body. As soon as they were taken, Max's weight, height, race, ethnicity, and other important things were uploaded onto the screen.

"Woah! Let me try, dude!" Max stepped aside, allowing Nino to stand in his place.

Another scan. Nino's information was uploaded in place of Max's, which was already saved.

"I suppose that's enough playtime. We have enough material to make them here."

"Wait, wait, wait... you _make_ your suits from hand?" Chloe asked, bewildered. 

"And you don't?" Steph joked, knowing fully well how their costumes appear.

"That's _such_ a Marinette thing to do... anyways... let's get started!" Chloe excitedly shoved Nino aside, doing a full twirl as the table's smart sensor scanned her. 

* * *

Two hours later, and the Batfam and miraculous wielders were already making plenty of progress of designing the new miraculous costumes. Chloe had gone over material that she could possibly use, instantly accepting Max's idea to create actual, working bee wings. 

Max had already gotten to work with the programming and building of the wings.

Juleka shyly shared her own designs with Cass, who talked with her on the couch about ways to include different things, like padded armor or perhaps, a weapons holster of sorts. Nino had taken to trying different shield metals to use when not in his miraculous form.

"Remind me again why we can't use spandex _alone?"_ Alix admired the movement her promo suit had given her. 

"Want to get run through with a sword?" Tim sipped on his latte. 

Alix merely shrugged in response, continuing to stretch in her bodysuit. 

"Y'know, to reinforce that, I recommend that you try to add some..." Ashe walked downstairs, running back up with a fragment of fabric. "Silicabasedquartzsandfabric."

Alix blinked. Then blinked again. "A what?"

"Reinforce. The. Suit. With... a silica based quartz sand fabric. The type of stuff used in our suits and the Flash's. Normally used on space shuttles to prevent them from burning up. Or in the Flash's case, to prevent him from burning up as he runs. For us... well, I have personal reasons, but for you, Alix, I do believe that some of this will be better for your... portal jumping."

"Speaking of personal reasons... who are you? Identity wise?" 

Ashe bit her lip. "Uh... like I said, personal. I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out. Later."

With a simple 'eh' from the French group, they all went back to designing and processing.

Kagami and Chloe sat at a different tables, sneaking quick glances at one another, often ending in one of them frantically turning back to scribbling all over their designs with a red face and metaphorical steam pouring out of their ears and nose. 

The sexual tension between them literally hurt.

Ashe wrapped the durable fabric around each of Alix's limbs, finding out where she might need it most. 

"...abrasion resistant... heat resistant, that might help. Kagami's miraculous power's don't allow her to breath fire, does it? Does it like, magically protect her from her power? If so, we might need to use some of this. Plenty of quartz fiber. Plenty of tensile strength. How flexible are you?"

Dick laid back with his lukewarm cup of tea. 

"What I want to know about is your fighting skills. No offense, but most of you look... kind of weak. Not saying that's a bad thing. I'm just saying there's room for improvement. I'm sure Kagami already knows how to properly use a sword as well as hand to hand combat... the others, not so sure." 

Dull mumbles of agreement.

"We'll be more than happy to help. Train, fight, emotional, mental, physical support. In the end, this is all to get Marinette back. I would say it's worth it."

Chloe set down her pencil. "The question is, is when Marinette is getting married to..."

"That's what we're still trying to find out as well. From our last little 'visit,' we managed to plant a tracker on one of the computers there. Anybody that _isn't_ scanned into the League of Assassin's database should be able to access it and contact us. However, it can not trace us, nor give away our identities or location."

"That's genius," Max said. 

"Thank you," Bruce nodded. "It was mainly Tim and Ashe who did the hacking." 

Both blushed a bashful red, looking away. 

"If we can somehow get Marinette to find it, we might be able to help her escape."

"Yeah, um... no offense on Marinette's part, but she's not really... strong. Without her miraculous," Kagami stated the thought that was everyone's mind. "When it comes to brains, yeah, but if you expect her to fight off a whole bunch of bad guys... she's... dead."

"Something tells me that by the time we get to her, she'll be much more skilled."

**(Shorter chapter, but hey - look at me! Double chapters in a day. I'm done with hiatus... for now. Next chapter will be focused on how Damian's relationship with - an anonymous oc - kind of falls apart and how Damian finally takes the time to get to know Marinette now that he isn't distracted by his lover. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!)**


	21. 21

**(Getting into the depths of Damian's other relationship! To make things short, they're going to break up, which you're going to see in this chapter. As heartbreaking as it is (to me), this does mean that you guys will be getting your promised Daminette moments... yay. Jessica the author. How original.)**

Marinette was rudely awakened to some ruckus in the hallway. Propping herself up on her elbows, she brushed away at the tangled tresses of hair that fell over her bluebell eyes. Groaning slightly, she eventually slid out of bed, tugging down the loose tank top that had ridden up while she slept. 

"If someone's out there... aggressively confessing their love in Arabic... I might have to interrupt... a really important arc in someone's fanfiction," Marinette tiredly murmured as she rubbed her sleepy eyes. 

Marinette quietly cracked open her door, sneaking out. 

Muffled voices, two emotional ones, at that, could be heard around the corner. 

Carefully shuffling into secrecy, she peeked over the corner, not too surprised to see Damian with his supposed lover. This lover of his was a tall male - about a head taller than Damian. The mask he wore over his mouth and nose was down on his neck, revealing gingery stubble on his chin. Damian and him seemed to be arguing over something, based on how their tone's would raise every second. 

_'What's going on?'_

The two were screaming at one another inEnglish this time, making it a tad bit easier for Marinette to understand them. 

_"-look. You're getting married to her! You need to care for her, nurture her, do whatever!"_

_"I literally just met her! We both don't want this. She can take care of herself!"_

_"That's not how a relationship works, Damian."_

_"OF course, I know how a relationship works. I'm in one."_

_"Not anymore!"_

Marinette tensed. A part of her felt kind of bad. Another part felt scoffed, now that karma finally got to Damian. That was for the kidnapping and the insults. She continued to watch as Damian's stiff, confident posture slouched. 

_"What are you saying...?"_

_"I mean we're done. You're going to get married to her. Yet you don't know how to treat her. And to be honest, you just did yourself dirty by exposing yourself. Is that how you felt about me? I can take care of myself? I don't possibly_ need _any kind of human interaction?"_

_"Well, you're a grown man, I expect you know how to take care of-"_

_"That's not what I mean! What I mean, is that, don't you think that you shouldn't at least TRY care for her? For me?!"_

_"I think you're seeing this from a different perspective-"_

_"I'm seeing things from the same perspective as you. You,"_ the hooded ginger sneered.

Marinette pursed his lips. This was getting serious. 

_"-are a heartless bastard. I'm done. Hope you enjoyed playing with my feelings."_

Marinette's heart began to beat faster. Out of the corner of her eye, Damian's now _ex-_ lover stormed off, pulling up his mask. Damian slightly swayed to the side. He looked as if he was about to lean against the wall for support, fingers just barely brushing against it. He pulled his back immediately, as if the wall was suddenly as hot as lava.

"How much did you hear?"

Marinette froze. 

Damian knelt on the ground, head turned in her direction. A piercing glare. Marinette had the urge to run back to the safety of her room and deny anything and everything when confronted. She gulped, feeling a shiver travel up her spine. 

She knew she had to fess up - she was no Lie - la.

"I heard... everything."

Damian stood up, walking over in Marinette's direction. 

Something struck inside of Marinette. Her instincts told her to run. But she couldn't.

"Walk with me," he whispered. 

Marinette was baffled. Damian simply ushered for her to come. And she obliged. 

"Want to... talk about it...?" at this point, she wasn't sure what to do. Damian had just proven that he had a lover yesterday, then she just witnessed their breakup and now Damian looked like he was a sailor's wife who had just been told that his husband had gone missing at sea. 

"...no. Just walk with me," he replied. 

Based on what Marinette had witnessed during her three or so days as a captive of the League of Assassins, she noticed the sudden changes in Damian's behaviour. With her and everyone else, he was a stern prick; but with his lover's, he became... shyer? Closeted. Not in that sort of way. Almost like he had two split personalities. With strangers and others, strict. 

With friends and loved ones... loved ones that _weren't_ his own family...

Definitely an interesting discovery, considering what requirements he might have, being the... grandson of Ra's Al Ghul. He was apathetic, uninterested. But caring at the same time? He didn't kill her when she offended him by calling him a 'prick' and 'ass.' 

There was something going on behind that 'mask' he wore. 

In the meantime...

Damian opened a door, holding it open for Marinette. 

Shocked wasn't the right word to describe how Marinette's inner 'aesthetic' felt. 

Right outside, _right outside_ was a whole _fountain_ of quartz and marble. Water ran over the ledge, creating an ankle deep pool. Surprisingly, there wasn't a single bug or dead leaf patch or really anything gross in it. Lotus and water lilies floated about, all rich in color. Whites, pinks, pale red, faint periwinkle and a pastel yellow one. Just a single pastel yellow lotus flower. 

Ivy wrapped around columns leading to it, giving Marinette a Greek - Roman era vibe.

"W-what is this place? Better yet, what are we here for?" 

"To talk." Damian revealed his boots, setting them aside, neatly against a flowering ivy column. Marinette figured she should copy - she removed her socks and slippers, placing them about two inches away from Damian's shoes. 

The ravenette strolled into the pool. He removed his platings of armor, carefully setting them aside right where the staircase down started. Damian shuffled to the side, sitting down on the dry marble siding. Marinette followed, keeping her distance, at least three feet. 

"We were together for three years. I was sixteen when I first gained these feelings for him. He was about a year older than me... strong. Tough. Able to win in a fight. Completed his assigned missions. Ginger. Half-Irish, half-Pakistani. Lacked human affection... I guess we both did."

"You have feelings?" Marinette almost smirked. 

Damian nearly scoffed in response. "Who doesn't?"

"I dated this guy for about a year before he dumped me."

"Mind telling me?" Damian gently pushed away an approaching water lily with his foot. 

"Pffftttt... where to start. I had this... childish crush on him when I first realized that I was going to the same school as him. Hell, I didn't even have a room anymore - it was basically just a whole shrine worshipping him... that same year my boy-crazy ass literally _stole_ his phone to delete a message I was too embarrassed to send him... _broke_ into his house as Ladybug... took a literal hair off of his head and..." Marinette huffed, remembering all the creepy things she'd done. 

"You are one strange girl." 

"I was like, fourteen! And a bitch-"

"You still are," Damian deadpanned, picking up the same water lily that he pushed away earlier.

Marinette punched him in the arm. Damian stood still - Marinette did as well. 

_'Shit, shit, shit-'_

"You really are a weakling." 

"You really are a prick." 

"You look like one." 

Marinette sputtered. "Not everyone can look like a damn model, Damian." 

"Hmph, I guess. Continue telling me about this 'ex,' of yours. He sounds interesting." 

"What, you planning on assassinating him as a wedding gift?" 

Damian remained silent. Marinette brow furrowed. 

"That was a joke." 

**(Okay, before you guys attack me for making Marinette get all 'friendship' with Damian, this chapter was mainly for me to break up Damian's current/past relationship so I could get a move on with the stuff you guys actually came for - Daminette. This fic might be... around 30 to 40 chapters at the least. I tend to write fast and I still got a lot of free time, so I'm hoping to at least get chapters 22 - 25 done before going on hiatus or whatever. Jessica the author. How original.)**


	22. 22

**(I LIVE! I AM ALIVE! Sorry for taking so long. I was taking a really long blink and all of sudden, all of my ideas are gone. Took a while to get 'em back, but you know, this is what happens when you eat four Flintstone gummies instead of two. Read the notes at the bottom, please.)**

"I brought some clothing for you. Do tell me if they are not your size." 

Damian handed a neat stack of multicolored garments to Marinette, who still had on her pajamas from the other day. Marinette gave him an odd half smile before gently shutting the door. She waited about a minute before peeping out, cracking the door slightly ajar. 

Damian still stood in the hallway. He pulled out a petal of a lotus flower out of his armor - that must have been from the other day. He tossed it, letting it flutter to the ground before walking off. He turned the corner - and just like that, he was gone. 

Marinette shut her door again.

Her eyed the stack of clothing. Stepping towards it, she grabbed the first piece of clothing.

It unraveled from its folded neatness, revealing a beautiful poncho style dress with intricate designs all over it. It was easy to identify - Marinette knew it was a kaftan - a traditional Arabic dress. Red with tribal looking designs. Underneath the kaftan, a pair of black leggings. 

"Hmph... cute." 

Quickly slipping out of her pajamas and into her new attire, she did a small twirl, feeling the satisfying feel of the satin fabric against her skin. Combing her fingers through her hair, she traveled out of her room. 

"I thought you had fallen asleep again. I didn't want to go in there to rouse you out of bed," Damian was standing there, arms crossed over his chest. Marinette blew a strand of indigo hair out of her face. 

"I would of, but I have a feeling I'm needed somewhere."

Damian gave her his usual 'tt.' "You are. Follow me."

"Where are going?" Marinette twirled around, watching the ends of her dress fly up. 

"You'll find out. Let's talk. Like yesterday."

Marinette shrugged. She did enjoy their talk yesterday. Damian wasn't as much of an asshole. She took inspiration by the beautifully designed fountain, spending most of her night huddled over her desk, sketching onto a piece of paper. 

The bluenette followed the ravenette out. 

Marinette began to walk in the direction of the fountain, only for Damian to stop her.

"Where are you going? We're not going to the fountain today." 

"What?" 

-

Damian opened a vast set of doors to the outside. 

Marinette could feel her heart beating faster. 

So... this is what Damian wanted. He closed the doors behind her.

"The gardens."

Flowers everywhere. Blood lilies, red acacias, irises. Blends of colors. Oranges, reds, yellows, greens, blues, purples, whites. Pinks and indigoes. Tweets of birds sang through Marinette's ears. 

"Wow..." Marinette was astonished. Damian tapped her hand with one finger. Marinette almost jumped. Damian remained silent, holding his hand out. Marinette reluctantly took it. "What is this place?"

"One of the many gardens we have on Infinity Island."

She arched an eyebrow at the name. 

"Paradise Island? What is this, some weird tourist resort? Are the cocktails to die for?"

"You're thinking of Themyscira." Marinette gave him a look. 

Damian glared. Marinette shrugged, biting her tongue to remain silent. Damian put a hand on her shoulder, guiding her towards an arched flower frame. Luminescent yellows and pale orange cream colors lined it, popping out from between the dark leaves wrapped around the arch. She secretly took one off.

"This is one of many private gardens surrounding the island. This one, just so happens to be my favorite," he explained, touching the arch, he pulled off a shrivelled leaf, crushing it in his hand, allowing the pieces to fall to the garden floor. 

Kind of weird. Both Damian... and just Damian himself, Marinette thought.

"You like plants?" she stated the obvious. 

"They add color to such a cruel world. I guess I do. I find them..." he went silent.

"Find them...?" Marinette motioned with her hands. 

"Interesting."

The Dupain-Cheng slumped. For someone so 'high and mighty' and supposedly 'intimidating and dangerous,' he really wasn't someone for words. Either that or he was, and Marinette was too busy dealing with the fact that she had been kidnapped and brought to some random 'Infinity Paradise Resort Island.' 

The pair moved around flower beds, hanging trees decked out in blossomed flowers, and exotically pleasing pots filled with colorful plants. In one section, a boxed plain about the size of a king-sized bed frame had vegetables growing from it. 

There was even a pen that held a flurry of bunnies. 

"Bunnies- er, rabbits? What do you need those for?" Marinette poked her finger through the metal wire fencing the energetic creatures. Damian blushed, looking away. Marinette didn't notice this - instead, she thought fondly of her friends. Alix, specifically. 

If they were here, they would most likely freak out over the cuteness of all the fluffy bundles. 

Speaking of friends... Marinette couldn't help but feel as if something was going to blow her entire kidnapping scenario to bits. Knowing her friends, they were going to do something risky that would end up with either Marinette dead, or all of them: dead. And as much as she wanted to get off whatever this... this oddly perfect island, she didn't wish for her friends to put their lives in danger over something Marinette would have to finally accept as her fate.

And it was until a bunny nipped her finger that she was brought back to her senses.

"That was Elysia," Damian said, looking at the pitch black rabbit with beady black eyes. 

"You named them?" 

Damian turned again, hiding his flushed face. "Let's continue."

-

[With the Batfamily and Miraculous Wielders]

_Left off of Chapter 20_

Cass and Juleka stood over the mannequin holding the starting pieces of Juleka's armor. The two, both being the silent and shy type, rarely spoke a word to each other. Music played from the headphones the two wore. Cass examined the 3-D breastplate on the screen. 

Juleka brushed her fingers over the elastic material. As far as she knew, she didn't have a miraculous. Marinette never entrusted her with one. And it wasn't that she cared. She didn't care that she didn't have a miraculous - she cared about her friends. 

When she heard of Chloe's immense plan on retrieving Marinette from whatever... deranged captors she was taken by, Juleka wanted to oppose it. It wasn't that she didn't care if Marinette was harassed or assaulted... murdered... in fact, that was the one thing circulating her mind. But to go against an elite force that was able to outsmart and outdo some of America's finest heroes... what use would a couple of ancient toy-shaped weapons be against them?

Not to mention, Bruce and the others mentioned something about them requiring the miraculous to revive Emilie Agreste. 

If the others were to be captured, they would have their miraculous on them. When the timer that holds the identities is up, the form would fade. The powers, the weapons, the disguise. 

And knowing how they had taken Marinette from them... 

Keeping the miraculous from them while tied up is something Juleka _knows_ would be nearly impossible, considering her friend's strengths and weaknesses. She, herself, would most likely submit due to the subtle pressure and threats. 

"You seem troubled," Cass suddenly speaks, startling Juleka. "You're thinking hard."

"I-I..." Juleka sucks in a large gulp of air, reminding herself to stay calm. "Yes. I'm just thinking about... I wish to speak against whatever plan Chloe has. I mean, I care for Marinette, I-I really do, but to go against this League of Assassins group with most of the miraculous gathered together, I don't feel like it's the greatest idea."

Cass seemed appalled. Juleka almost flinched. Did she say the wrong thing?

"You know... you might be onto something. I'm not really... I'm not really diverged in whatever this 'ancient miraculous' stuff is. I only know what you guys know. Really, this is more of Ashe and Bruce's set of knowledge. But I think you have the right idea. Really. Having most of the miraculous all together at once is something that we need to take caution of."

Juleka nodded. Cass almost smiled. 

"Knowing the League, they're trained to kill. Fight without hesitation. Take a life without hesitation - even if it means their own. To put it, it's just an entire clan of Al Ghul followers willing to sacrifice everything to be an assassin worthy to be trained under R'as Al Ghul himself."

More nods of understanding. 

"Pickpocketing and secrecy is something they're trained in. Snagging a miraculous would be like stealing candy from a child."

(t.b.c)

um- whoever wants a rewrite with longer chapters and more drama, vote here. put a black heart emoji. 


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